Monochopsis
by stellvrr
Summary: A study in lies. An inquest on recognition. The anatomy of passion. Adventure and mysteries surround the crew as they are forced out of their comfort zone.
1. Prologue

This fanfic takes place after the events of Star Trek Into Darkness however, due to certain facts recently disclosed about Star Trek Beyond, it can be considered an AU.

Furthermore the characters, terms and other details regarding the Star Trek fandom are not my property.

Only the plot, original characters, original planet and its respective culture is mine.

That said, please enjoy the story.

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 _[_ _ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ_ _]_ This prologue is optional.

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 _The following document is an official lab report from the Tri-national Yeyitlian Space Association (TYSA) deep archive which has been translated into the Human English language for better understanding however the dates and times mentioned are of the Yeyitlian time line._

 _This is a dead file and top secret._

 **Tri-national Yeyitlian Space Association** | Date: 48. 12. 2049

Straight Path To The Stars

Prof. Ojiimwi Saadlisv, Prof. Tlesiin Dete, Prof. Hatluyv Wi, Dr. Quaghayn Mazhaa

I. PROBLEM

Due to fractional differences between Prof. Dete & Prof. Wi's transporter calculations Dr. Mazhaa has brought to our attention the possible scrambling or even partial loss in the subjects' limbic systems.

II. HYPOTHESIS

We have decided to use orphaned infants instead of our original test subjects to avoid the confusion that the transportation may cause. After further testing on the subjects we hypothesize that the normal body temperature of 88℉ will be maintained during the transportation process and thus should be enough to keep the body functional despite the infants solitude during the transportation. I have suggested we plant the subjects with tracking fluid in their blood systems to both detect where they have rematerialized and if they have survived. Dr. Mazhaa has predicted a 92% success rate.

III. MATERIALS

The transporter has been readjusted to detect the infants. We have decided not to place them in any container to avoid possibly interfering with the alien life forms they may encounter. The only material we've granted them is a simple cloth to wrap them in. The tracking fluid will be injected a few hours before the trajectory coordinates are placed in the transporter.

IV. SAFETY INFORMATION

The infants have been sterilized and the tracking fluid has successfully transferred throughout their circulatory system. They have been properly fed and hydrated and are currently awaiting the transporters initiation.

V. PROCEDURE

Dr. Mazhaa has alerted us of newer informations on the effects of the transportation on the infants' lambic system. It seems as though the normal intake of information and environmental details that is naturally quite rapid in Yeyitlian infants was continued all throughout the prior obtaining of the infants and thus they will undergo similar confusion and sporadic memories of Yeyitlo. We have decided to continue the experiment as planned.

The subjects have been placed into the beaming platforms and 7 distinct planets' coordinates have been set and designated for each infant.

VI. RESULT

The infants were successfully rematerialized on each planet but after a couple of weeks of observation the results have been disastrous. 4 of them deceased instantly after being rematerialized, we speculate they landed in either unpopulated or uninhabitable locations of said planet. The three remaining subjects presented movement, perhaps they were taken in by said planets species, but two of their body temperatures fell drastically and they deceased soon after. One however survived a considerably longer time. The tracking fluid remained visible for 2/3 of a month, 30 days in total, which we've calculated by its rotation is equivalent to an entire month on this specific planet. However the tracker displayed a strange result; instead of simply ending transmission, like the other two longer surviving subjects, this specific infant's tracker slowly became fainter and fainter until finally disappearing.

VII. CONCLUSION

The disappointing results of the experiment has led us to conclude that, as suspected, life outside Yeyitlo exists but may be unsustainable for Yeyitlians themselves. Dr. Mazhaa has deducted this is due to thermal conditions (some planets reported temperatures of nearly 60℉) that would be deadly to us. Furthermore the fact that the infants were taken in by 3 different species has led us to believe that these specific planets have intelligent and nonviolent life forms. The interplanetary probe project has been shut down and any evidence of this illegal experiment has been deeply archived.

Signiture

ᏮᤅᏪبᏰⳃ؎᥌؋Ꮝ


	2. Chapter 1

The entrance of the ship was breathtaking. It was twice as big as she imagined it and completely decked in lights and chrome, intricate hallways and detailed technology everywhere she looked.

The brunette kept her gaze forward with confidence and her steps as dignified and quick-paced as always. The sound of her boots clicking against the metal floor of the Enterprise was consumed by the plenty of other noises that went around the ship.

There were chattering and orders about supplies and machinery and greetings between friends that had been members of the crew since it's maiden voyage. In addition to the jitters that came with being in a new environment Natalya was going through the motions of finally being on the ship she'd wanted to be a part of since the beginning.

Two years ago, when Nero had attacked, she was sure that her high grades and exemplary dedication to Starfleet would have granted her the privilege of being one of the chosen to be on the same ship as captain Pike. She wasn't.

She was, however, given the explanation that the heavy destroyer class ships, like the NCC-11555 she was assigned to, would have a greater risk of crew mates getting injured and would consequently need highly qualified medical teams which she had the honor of being a part of.

After that she grew used to her ship and Khan's attack on the Academy had turned the U.S.S Enterprise into a sort of hazard zone causing the girl give up on the idea, choosing instead utter loyalty to her current crew. That is, until the announcement that the Enterprise would be setting off on a 5 year exploratory journey.

Five years in deep space was something that Natalya couldn't simply ignore. It wasn't just curiosity or bravery, two qualities that the young woman most certainly possessed, it was something much deeper. The reason was one that no one but her knew and she was determined to keep it that way.

Finally reaching a bifurcation in the hallway the woman came to a halt. The ship was still unfamiliar to her, not to mention it's sheer size was enough to throw most people off. She clutched on tighter to her PADD and her eyes darted left and right as she wondered which was the correct path. Just then a voice called out to her and her indecision became irrelevant.

"Sulu." She replied, turning slightly to the man in the yellow shirt.

"I'm glad I found you." The man smiled as politely as always only this time with a distinct pinch of mischief in his eyes.

The girl nodded with a slight smile.

"I should say the same. Which one of these leads to medbay?"

Sulu looked to the side, just then noticing they were standing between the two halls and readily answered the girl.

"Oh, it's right this way. I'll take you there."

The two went down the right corridor as Natalya mentally noted the correct route. Slowly the silence that usually came with prolonged periods of time spent with the girl while she was trying to learn something started to set in. Sulu thought of letting her take in the details of the ship but concluded she'd have more than enough time to do that.

"You excited?" He asked a bit generically, fearing that touching on the more casual matters they'd experienced wouldn't be something the girl wanted to get into at the moment.

"Huh? Oh, yes, very much." She responded honestly as she turned from the walls to face the man beside her again.

"I, uh..." He broke the phrase for a second to clear his throat from the uncertainty that had slowly crept up on him and Natalya let her gaze drift off again.

"I hope we can spend some time together again."

"What?" She trailed off as they entered medbay.

He instantly lost his bravado and ignored the question seeing as the girl's attention had already been stolen by the vision of her new work place.

Bones walked past the two just then, PADD in hand and his usual flustered expression.

"Dr. McCoy?" The brunette called and the man turned on his heels the same second, looking around for the unfamiliar voice.

He caught sight of Sulu first before his eyes were dragged down to the young lady standing besides the helmsman. Natalya had her hands folded over each other while holding the PADD in front of her and a face exceptionally clear of any visible emotion. Bones quirked a brow at both her distinct manner of holding herself and at her, what he considered, attractive features. The face instantly sparked a memory in his brain and he snapped his fingers.

"Alcantara, that's right. Come along." He eyed the girl from the tip of her boots to the top of her head before turning back to his original track. Alcantara followed, no questions asked.

Just as she was nearly out of sight she stopped, turning to Sulu who had started to make his way back.

"Sulu."

He stopped instantly and looked back at her.

"Considering our schedules don't overlap, how about lunch?"

The man grinned and nodded.

"I'll make sure they don't overlap." He joked and walked off just as Alcantara did as well.

The girl had to hurry her step to catch up to her new supervisor but managed to do so just as he stepped into a spacious area bustling with other crew members dressed in med blue. The sight was common to Alcantara, who was more interested in any specific tasks Bones had for her.

"You'll be taking the B wing. For now it'll be pretty low maintenance, that is until Jim decides to pick a fight with some alien." The doctor mumbled and Natalya perked up.

He continued to lead her to her new office, swiping a card over a lock pad and causing the door to click open.

"Just focus on keeping the staff busy and go through this..." The man stretched out the word for a while as he looked down to his PADD, sending a message that arrived instantaneously to Alcantara's own PADD.

"List." He concluded as the girl brought up the device, opened the annex and skimmed over a variety of names.

"List of?" The other doctor hung on the last word as she awaited further detail.

"Any crew member that needs special medication, has recently recovered from a serious injury and anyone who hasn't had a check up in the last two months."

Alcantara's head lifted again and her brown eyes patiently observed the slightly older man in front of her.

"Which narrows it down it about two thirds of the ship." The man smiled at the lady in a playfully cynical manner to which her alert eyes softened and her lids fell to half open.

"Exciting." She responded with equal sarcasm.

"You're telling me." The man huffed as she walked around to her desk and placed the PADD down.

"You can start after lift off."

"Surely." She nodded as she stood behind the metal desk and eyed Bones with the same smug expression and sentinel pose.

"So, how do you know Sulu?"

The girl lifted her hand, leveled to her lips, and her index finger lightly rubbed up and down on the bridge of her nose. It was a type of defense mechanism the doctor had; it served the dual function of soothing the anxiety she got when more personal subjects were brought up and also covering her mouth which seemed to give away her feelings most easily.

Right now the movement on her face was distracting McCoy from the tiny smirk that sprinkled over her lips for less than a second before she had recomposed herself.

"The botanical gardens at the academy." The girl answered simply as Bones stared at her, visibly unsatisfied by the response.

Natalya's deep brown eyes stared right back at the man, as if silently telling her new CMO that was the end of that subject. McCoy took the hint and sucked in a breath as he began to turn towards the door.

"Right then. Anyway..." An awkward cough and a shifting of eyes before the good doctor turned back to the girl.

"You know what to do."

"Thank you, Dr. McCoy."

Bones nodded and walked out as Natalya followed just behind and stood at the entrance of the medical wing, hands folded over her front. She turned to eye her new underlings and heaved in a breath to help ready her for the day ahead.

•••

For the following hours Alcantara was ordering her subordinates on who to notify next for their routine checkups, what medication to bring out from the storage room and trying her best not to loose control of the various nurses and other ensign doctors that were going about the B wing. Tending to the seemingly never ending cycle of calling names, going through routine hypospray injections, "here're your meds" and a lot of "hold still" while circling a tricorder around someone's body got to Alcantara pretty quickly. By lunchtime everyone was more than glad they would get to step out of the unexpectedly challenging pace their new supervisor set. Natalya stepped into her office to get the card that served as a lock for her office and her PADD. Being the head of the wing meant that she left for lunch an hour before everyone else but also returned an hour before them as well.

A distinct trill came from the electronic device in the doctor's hand. She looked down and Sulu's name was spelled out in light blue while a small yellow bullet point blinked to it's left. Alcantara touched the screen and the message opened.

I managed to get off duty earlier today. You free yet?

The girl grinned a bit but quickly neutralized her expression again as she typed out her answer.

I'll be there soon.

"Considering I don't get lost." She whispered to herself as she sent the reply and headed out into the hall.

Luckily she was spared the embarrassment of actually getting lost and soon enough she was at the bridge sending the man a notice of her arrival.

Sulu straightened up as he received the message and naturally smiled at the prospect of spending some time with the girl he'd been seeing for a couple weeks now. A slight giggle was heard from behind him and he turned instantly to see Chekov snickering quietly.

"Something funny, Chekov?"

"Iz just zat itz ze first time I zee you like zis."

"Like what?" Sulu stops dead in his tracks to shoot a cheeky grin back at the younger crew member.

"Vell, you know. All... Flustered and anxious." The Russian tried to find the right words as Uhura went by the two.

They both instantly stopped smiling as the red dress passed them as silent as possible. Chekov looked down and Sulu awkwardly excused himself from the bridge.

As Alcantara waited patiently for Sulu she noticed a turbolift slide open as two highly known figures walked out.

"I just couldn't believe it until I heard it from you." The blonde man in the yellow uniform shirt said to the slightly taller man besides him.

Alcantara straightened up a bit more as she prepared for the two higher ups to pass by her. Simultaneously Sulu stepped out of the bridge and the girl's eyes went straight towards him.

"Mr. Sulu." The captain greeted the other yellow shirt just as he reached Alcantara.

"Captain." Sulu acknowledged back.

"I'm taking it she's the reason you requested to have lunch earlier today?"

Alcantara instantly felt uncomfortable as the three men eyed her however she kept steady all the while.

Sulu let out a light chuckle.

"That's correct, captain."

"You're new aren't you?" Kirk questioned as he smiled to the lady.

"Dr. Natalya Alcantara, sir, head of medbay's B Wing."

"Ah, so you're Bones' new right hand lady?"

Natalya looked to the side for a second, Sulu tweaked his lips and Spock ticked a brow at the Jim's comment; the captain of the Enterprise had a way of making nearly anything sound like an innuendo.

"I am indeed his second in command, sir." The doctor rephrased the comment and wiggled her fingers a bit as she kept her grip on the PADD she held in front of her almost mechanically.

Kirk seemed to pick up on how the conversation was slowly shifting into awkwardness and nodded.

"Right then, you two enjoy your lunch."

"Thank you, sir." Sulu replied as he led Alcantara to the turbolift.

Just as the two were about to leave Spock turns to Sulu in his usual serious manner.

"Mr. Sulu, I suspect you remember that given the fact that you've been relieved of your duties earlier today you will be expected back an hour earlier as well."

"I understand, commander." Sulu nodded and Spock and Kirk turned around.

"Really, Sulu, you should know these things after 5 years in Starfleet." Alcantara's voice was just barely heard as the turbolift's door closed and Sulu snickered.

Spock stopped walking and turned back around, slightly vexed by the doctor's sarcasm. Kirk smirked at the joke and Spock eyed him.

"Was she being sarcastic, sir?"

"Phenomenally." Kirk shook his head as he walked onto the bridge, leaving Spock to stare at the now empty turbolift.

Back on the bridge Kirk was already giving commands for the autopilot option, in preparation for his own lunch that would be soon. Walking in, Spock caught sight of a well known pair of eye glaring at him. Looking to his right he sees Uhura attempting to burn holes through him with her gaze, he stares right back at the woman and cocks his head ever so slightly to which she instantly turns her attention back to the control panel ahead of her.

Spock walks by the lady and sits in his designated chair to complete the hour of service he had left before lunch. The bridge was quieter than usual; the truth was everyone was aware of the Vulcan and African's current situation.

Spock slowly turned to notice that both Kirk and Chekov were, not so casually, watching him. His trademark raising of an eyebrow caused the Russian to look away but the captain was more of a wild card. Not only did he continue staring at him, the blonde man actually stood up in one fluid motion and headed over to his first officer.

Spock spun back towards his control panel and awaited more inappropriate questions about the subject they were discussing earlier.

"Is there a problem, captain?"

"Just so I can make sure I've got this straight; you're the one who said it?"

"I fail to see how that is a problem to you, sir."

"Well, it's just that I still haven't been able to picture the scene."

Spock tried extra hard not to roll his eyes at the statement as Jim went on.

"So... It was you who..." The captain's blue eyes sharpened as his brows raised as if to ask for the millionth time if what his friend had said was true.

Spock stared back at him silent.

"Yes, captain, commander Spock was the one to break up with me." Suddenly Uhura answered the man who only annoyed her more and more with his utterly ridiculous attempt at being subtle.

"We were only on shore leave for two months." Kirk commented looking from Uhura to Spock as if hoping for an explanation.

"Much can happen in two months, captain." The blue shirt answered while looking down to his panel nonchalantly.

"Yeah, like deciding that one of the few people who put up with your messed up ways is being unreasonable and overbearing." The girl said the last words bitterly as if to quote her ex boyfriend.

"It wasn't exactly like that."

Just as another member of the crew in a red shirt handed a PADD to Uhura, the woman stood and walked over to the raven haired man.

"Oh, wasn't it, Spock? Because the way I remember it those were your exact words."

"Indeed, they were, however it would be illogical for me to say that without any reason."

"You're reason was bullshit."

"Captain?" Pavel called Kirk from his station.

"Just a second, Chekov. What did he say to you, Uhura?"

"He said that he felt I was forcing him to be someone he's not just because I asked him to tell me what was wrong."

"There wasn't anything particularly wrong." Spock answered trying to calm Uhura down.

"You're lying." She replied instantly.

"Vulcans do not lie."

"Oh please." The woman rolled her eyes as she huffed.

"Sir, it's just that-"

"I'll be right there, Pavel, just a second." Jim responded and turned back to the two.

"Spock, like you said, you wouldn't just break up with her for no reason. You at least owe her a reason why you did."

Uhura was fuming at that point and Spock simply looked up to her and nodded.

"Because of what she's doing right now."

She furrowed her brows, unsure of what he meant.

"I don't mind that you have feelings, I mind that you make a scene out of them."

Just then Uhura's desk started to beep and blink a red color; a distress call. Uhura lost her ground and Jim looked from Spock to her awkwardly.

"It's better than lying about them." She finished and went to her desk.

Pavel sighed as the communications lieutenant stopped bickering and went to answer the call.

There was a deathly silence for a second, Spock looked up to Kirk who looked a bit disappointed by the fact that his two friends' relationship had ended on such a bad note.

"Captain." Uhura called out and Jim glanced her way.

"There's been an accident."


	3. Chapter 2

When McCoy heard that there had been an accident on a moon on which a relatively large group of Starfleet geologists were researching he imagined a broken arm or in worst cases a concussion. What he got was 3 dead and about 20 others under what was left of the rocks and sands that once were mountains.

The good doctor had alerted all medical staff of the Enterprise to get ready for an emergency rescue. His two subdivisions' chiefs were rushing to meet up with him at sick bay as the red shirts were already being beamed down to begin pulling out the remaining crew out from the wreckage.

McCoy gave out orders from one side to another and let out a loud sigh as he saw the two younger doctors heading towards him.

"Thank goodness..." He commented, southern accent twice as noticeable due to his anxiety.

"Sorry, doctor, we were on lunch break." Lieutenant Erikson, head of medbay's C wing, responded.

"At least you had lunch. I've been setting things up since we got the call. Have you contacted your teams yet?"

"Right away, sir" The male doctor nodded as he headed to the his division.

Natalya walked past Bones, going towards a first aid kit.

"Dr. Alcantara." Bones called out to the lady who turned to see the CMO's raised brows and shrugging.

"Yes, doctor?"

"You're team." He said in an annoyed tone.

Just then a group of nurses and ensign doctors came rushing into the main wing.

"I had the nurses prepare emergency kits while the ensigns were doing the checkups this morning, sir. When I got the signal I alerted them immediately."

McCoy was speechless although it was probably for the best since less than a second later Natalya's team was reporting to her as she gave them orders to line up at the transporter room.

The girl looked back to her superior as she grabbed the kit and readied herself to lead her group down to the moon.

"Permission to beam down beforehand, Commander."

Leonard finally found his voice and snapped back to the gravity of the situation.

"Granted. Tell the teams I'll be down in a second."

"Yes, sir." The doctor replied and almost instantly was rushing out with a group behind her.

Soon enough Natalya was entering Scotty's station as she stepped up on the transporter.

"Beam us down, immediately, Dr. McCoy's orders." The girl said to the chief engineer, too much in a hurry to be any more polite.

"Aye, lassie." The man agreed, though he would have done it even if McCoy hadn't ordered it.

A group of 5, including Alcantara started to step onto the transport discs when Kirk and Spock showed up.

"Captain." Scotty greeted the man who seemed stressed.

"Captain." Natalya saluted the man as well.

"Doctor, Commander Spock and I'll need to beam down."

The lady looked straight at the men, curious as to who was in control of the ship if the captain and first officer were beaming down. That's when she realized the blonde was gazing at her, waiting for a reply.

"Surely, Captain." Natalya turned to two members of her team and motioned with her head for them to fall back and give their spots on the transporter to their higher ups.

The other doctors did as they were commanded and Kirk and Spock stepped up. Spock and Natalya exchanged tense looks as Kirk gave Scotty the Ok to beam them down.

A series of bright yellow lights began swirling around the five crew members and in less than a minute they were all down in the midst of the hectic research sight that was now mostly rubble and scrap metal.

The sounds of groaning and orders to help get the injured to a designated area flooded the five who'd just arrived.

Kirk looked to Spock and then to Alcantara; the two looked much more composed than everyone else and Kirk used that to his advantage.

"Doctor, you and your team can start attending while Spock scouts the area for the source of the accident."

The girl nodded determined to begin her job.

"Yes, sir." Spock replied along with the doctor.

"Now I need to find the head researcher." Kirk mumbled half to himself as he turned around, trying to make out the geologists face in the midst of the chaos.

Suddenly more doctors were beamed down, this time followed by McCoy. Alcantara motioned with her head to the two doctors who were with her and they all headed off to help the injured.

A handful of other doctors went dashing by and Spock went along to the sight where the destruction looked the most troubling.

Luckily there were an equal number of doctors and injured so none of the affected had to wait too long to be attended.

A little while later, a couple of meters from the doctors, Kirk had located the chief geologist. The man was sitting on a crate while Jim stood in front of him, listening carefully to his report of what had happened.

"One minute we're nearly at 80 feet, ready to start dusting, the next there's dirt everywhere." The older man shook his head as he roughly explained the situation to Kirk.

"At least there wasn't anyone down there otherwise I... I don't know what..." The geologist began to stammer from shock and Jim put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright."

The man nodded and Kirk removed his hand to press a button on his outfit.

"Scotty, beam Mr. Landon up to the ship to get some rest."

"Aye, Captain, just as soon as these injured are safely aboard."

Kirk forced a smile and nodded to the man once before turning around, hands on his hips as he looked over the area.

There were blue shirts everywhere, cleaning up cuts and checking vitals, while the red shirts were gradually dispersing as they were beamed back onto the Enterprise with the researchers that would need casts and other more intensive treatment.

It wasn't exactly the most merry way to kick off half a decade in deep space but it did prove to the captain how good of a crew he had.

"We're just about finished here." Leonard stated as he walked up to his friend, rolling up some left over gauze nonchalantly.

"Some first day, huh?" The captain huffed as he looked over to the doctor.

"I wish someone would have warned us that five years in space was a death wish. Oh, wait..." Bones turned to Kirk with arched brows as his friend rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"At least people'll be talking about something other than Spock breaking up with Uhura."

Now it was McCoy's turn to roll his eyes.

"I hear that." The doctor mumbled under his breath.

"Who would have guessed he'd be the one to end it?" Kirk asked while he and Bones eyed the Vulcan going about the rubble with a tricorder.

"You mean who would have guessed he'd live up to his reputation of being a irritating, cold blooded hobgoblin; I think I might have mentioned it."

"Well, isn't someone extra pissed off today?" Jim chuckled at the man's easily riled up personality.

McCoy sighed as he looked down to the gauze that was rolled up now.

"I guess I get twice as sarcastic when I'm hungry."

"Speaking of sarcasm, how are you getting along with the the newbie." Jim's eyes skimmed over to Bones before they both looked to Natalya just finishing up a suture on a woman's right eyebrow.

"Who? Alcantara? She's like a little robot, Jim; haven't seen efficiency like that since the hospitals back at the academy."

"Records says she fought against Nero. That would make her at least a year '58 ensign and I think I would remember having a class or two with her." Kirk eyed the girl with a grin spreading over his face.

McCoy pursed his lips as if silently agreeing before noticing the look on Kirk's face.

"Careful there, Jim. I think Sulu's gotta thing for that one."

"I'm joking, Bones." The man looked back to his friend and Leonard's blue eyes darted back from the girl to the captain as he quirked a brow.

Jim quirked a brow back at him as he took out his communicator and pressed a few buttons.

"Mr. Sulu, how's my girl doing?"

"She's fine, captain. And Mr. Landon's team is in sickbay getting treated, sir." The helmsman answered, smirk in voice, knowing that Kirk was referring to the Enterprise.

"Good. We'll be up soon."

"Sure thing, captain."

Kirk ended the call and stuffed his communicator back into his pocket before walking forward.

"Let's go see what Spock found so we can leave; it's hot as hell here."

Alcantara and Erikson had both just finished sending up the last members of their teams back to the ship with the remaining injured and were removing their gloves as they noticed McCoy and Kirk coming their way.

"I'm going to go ahead and beam back to see how things are in sickbay. Do you mind giving Dr. McCoy the report?" The man about Natalya's age asked and the girl merely nodded.

"Thanks." Erikson replied a bit awkwardly at how quiet the other doctor was when she wasn't working.

"Sure." Natalya started walking off as the man communicated with the engineers to beam him up.

Alcantara leisurely started towards McCoy; she made sure to take her time seeing as she was actually enjoying the climate of the moon. Despite the rest of the crew be sweating and some out of breath due to the dry air Natalya was making the most of the harsh sun's rays. The doctor looked up to the far off yellow blotch in the sky and squinted until her lids slowly closed all together.

From afar McCoy caught the girl in the first moment off guard she'd displayed since he'd met her. It caused the CMO to lightly scoff as he decided to use the situation as a way of becoming more friendly with the new member of the Enterprise. Jim noticed his friend's gaze and the slight sound he made and looked over to Natalya as well. Seemingly a second later Kirk noticed a part of the tall sandy mountain besides the girl start to crumble. His eyes grew wide and he stammered as he tried to recall the name he'd first heard a few hours ago. Failing to do so and realizing that the girl would be crushed in seconds if he didn't do something he looked slightly to the left to see Spock standing there, looking down at his tricorder. By then McCoy had noticed the rumbling as well and was calling to the girl.

"Spock!"

"Alcantara!"

The two voices overlapped and both of the blue shirts looked over to their superiors only to realize the ground under their feet shaking. Natalya's head darted back to see the wave of dirt coming towards her and suddenly she became motionless.

Spock didn't think twice before dashing for the girl. It all happened in a fraction of a second; the two were tumbling over sand and rocks as an avalanche slid just a couple of feet from them. The fact that they'd both just avoided being buried alive seemed to dull compared to how shockingly cold Natalya was.

When Spock pushed the girl out of harms way he wondered if she'd accidentally injected him with a hypospray due to the jolt that went through him. Natalya seemed to be in equal shock as she kept her deathly cold hands on Spock's face. That's when he realized the girl was the source of the jolt. He confirmed his theory as the girl frantically tried to push his body off of hers with both hands empty of any equipment and he moved off her instantly.

As she continued to squirm away from him Spock could have sworn he saw a thin, transparent layer of what he could only describe as skin covering the girl's face and hands. The man's expression was of pure bewilderment but as the woman's hair draped her face and she stood, he shook it off.

"Alcantara!" Bones called out as he and Kirk reached the two very dusty crew members.

"Are you alright?" The doctor asked as he eyed Spock and the girl for any injuries.

"Just a few abrasions, sir." She answered patting her dress of the sand.

"Goddamn it, woman, don't be so formal. You could have died just now."

Natalya nodded as she looked from McCoy to Spock as if recognizing he was the reason she hadn't.

Jim was kneeling to help Spock up though the Vulcan dismissed the help and stood dusting himself off, wordlessly.

"I think we better get back on the ship before we get any more surprises." The captain commented worriedly as he contacted Scotty to beam the four of them up as soon as possible.

•••

Sulu rushes into sickbay a few hours after his shift had finished, the rest of the medical ensigns were all heading to their rooms for the night or meeting up at the lounge by then but he knew that Alcantara wasn't clear until another hour.

"Natalya." The man called in a voice a little over a whisper.

The lady, who was readjusting some of the patients' biobeds, heard her name coming from the B wing's main entrance and started towards it.

Sulu waited for the doctor to walk out of the room as the automatic door closed behind her and she finished her reports on the injured geologists.

"Hi, Sulu." She looked up calm as ever and the man wondered if she was faking such a cool exterior or if she really didn't make much of the dangerous situation she'd experienced today.

"Are you alright?" He asked while walking up to her.

"Sure. Why... Oh." Just then did the girl realized Sulu was referring to what had happened earlier.

"I'm fine." She responded a second time, this one said much more seriously.

"The captain told me about the earthquake."

"Was that what happened?" The girl slowly steps up to the man as she puts down her reports on a countertop nearby.

Sulu nods.

"According to Spock the moon's core is made up of upside down volcanos or at least that's the simplified version. I kept thinking... It could have been worst."

"I could be treating burn victims." The girl raised her brows for a split second as Sulu grew closer to her.

"I'm glad _your_ okay." The man said in a tone a bit lower than usual as Natalya stared into his eyes as Sulu's hands started massaging her arms lovingly.

Back on the bridge Spock had just finished typing out the rest of his report regarding the accident and was heading towards medbay on Jim's orders to explain to Mr. Landon what had happened and question him as to where to drop off his team.

As he entered the turbolift he couldn't manage to keep still. The Vulcan's fingers kept twitching and he deduced he was still a bit shaken by what had happened earlier. He quickly shook it off and focused on the task at hand.

Reaching sickbay Spock noticed Bones pulling off gloves in preparation for the end of his shift.

"Doctor, would it be possible for me to speak with Mr. Landon?"

Bones threw the elastic things away and stepped up to the Vulcan.

"Just finished checking up on him; he's been sleeping since this afternoon. Why?"

Spock put his hands behind his back.

"The captain asked to inquire where to drop his team off."

"I see. I'll keep an eye on him; as soon as he's up I'll notify Jim."

"Thank you, doctor." The blue shirts eyed each other for a second and Spock nodded before starting to walk off.

"Spock." McCoy called out before the man had left.

"Did you speak to Alcantara?"

Spock raised one brow.

"Under what pretext?"

McCoy rolled his eyes as he pursed his lips.

"How about saving her life. I'm pretty sure I didn't hear so much as a thank you from her."

"It's not necessary."

Bones immediately regretted trying to side with the alien for once.

"Well, where I'm from manners are very necessary. But then again, you green blooded ghouls probably don't have much use for thanks if you got no feelings."

Spock eyed the doctor once again and just barely resisted the urge to roll his own eyes.

"I'm sure it was a result of the shock."

Bones didn't answer this time, instead tweaking his lips to the side as a response.

"Good night, Dr. McCoy."

"Sure." Bones mumbled as Spock went along.

Though it was somewhat annoying to have McCoy in his business he did agree it would only be natural to speak to Alcantara regarding the incident privately. Without noticing he found himself walking towards the B wing of sickbay and decided to simply contact the woman, himself.

He was just a few steps away from the entrance when his head whirled without any warning. His very acute sense of smell picked up a very strong yet somewhat sweet scent. Spock stopped for a moment to regain his balance when he heard the low but unmistakable sound of kissing. Raising his head the man took just 2 steps forward, noticeably quieter than before, and found his guess was correct.

Sulu had his back to Spock as he kissed and held onto Alcantara's waist. The headache came in another wave and the first officer took a hand to his temple to try to stabilize himself.

Just then Alcantara opened her eyes and noticed the man watching her and Sulu. Spock stared back at her for less than a second before rushing back the way he came, head thumping more and more each second.


	4. Chapter 3

"So, Katrina's a nice name. Do people call you Kat?"

The tour guide looked at Kirk with half lidded blue eyes and a plastic smile.

"Not twice."

"Alright then..." The captain awkwardly responded as the female past by him to the front of the group of Starfleet ensigns and officers.

"And now we'll be heading to the downtown area, where our tour will end." After announcing the next stop the lady faced forward again and everyone resumed their low chattering.

After Mr. Landon had woken up he revealed that he and his crew were from a research team sent from Earth colony Guayana 08. The planet was about 5 light years off route which obviously displeased Spock however a good part of the crew knew about Guayana 08's reputation of being quite a liberal colony; some of the ensigns had spent past spring breaks on the planet's beaches and the stories had spread.

When they arrived it was noon and upon an invitation from the governor the crew had the rest of the day to enjoy a short break. A few minutes after they had all made it out they were separated into groups and set out to get to know some of the colony's main attractions.

Kirk finally gave up on smooth talking the Guayani tour guide just as the bustling downtown area came into view. Everyone started looking out the windows of the shuttle bus to admire the scenery.

"Quite the view, huh, Spock?"

"It is quite impressive that the colony was able to develop this much in such a short period."

"The magic of college students on vacation." The blonde man smirked as his first officer casually gazed at something behind him.

Jim turned and noticed Uhura turning her face just then. Jim faced Spock again and the Vulcan's eyes fell back on the man sitting beside him.

"She seems to be taking it well." The blonde joked.

It was no secret that as intelligent as Uhura was she was a highly emotional person. Even someone who wasn't close to her could easily read her feelings and that was one of the reasons why Spock had gotten with her; he was completely sure that her emotions were pure. But at times her emotional simplicity was a curse. She was relatively quick to anger, she was somewhat competitive to a flaw and most of all she was possessive. He'd always been dismissive of the last trait though he didn't comprehend it until one of the nights on the shore leave.

Before he could replay the argument in his head the shuttle was opening and Katrina was saying something about a festival that would be taking place on one of the beaches that evening. Everyone started getting out and Kirk chuckled as he looked over to his friend.

"Oh, yes. We're definitely going to that."

Spock cocked a brow and Kirk made a face at him.

"It'll be good for you to get your mind off of..."

He watched as Uhura went by without a giving them a second glance.

"Things." The blonde completed and Spock sighed.

"I don't think that's a..."

Before Spock could even finish Kirk was already walking out and pointing back at him.

"Captain's orders!"

The raven haired man was left standing in the shuttle as his friend went along with the rest of the crowd. As he awaited the rest of the members onboard to leave he noticed Sulu and Alcantara walking side by side and talking, Sulu saying something about his former spring breaks as the woman grinned and quietly followed after him.

Spock gazed at the doctor a little longer than expected and only realized after the pangs that he'd been feeling for a few days now came back. He put his fingers to his temples and massaged them as he exited the shuttle and headed straight to the hotel that had been arranged for the crew.

The planet was absolutely gorgeous. Everywhere you looked there were smiling people, interesting looking cuisine and tall blue vegetation that looked somewhat like banana trees with a more unique pattern on its leaves. Jim was stunned by the place and looked a bit like a kid in a candy store as he observed the movement.

"Captain Kirk." A deep voice called the man's name and he turned to see the person he'd been waiting for.

"Admiral Nox." Jim smiled politely as he reached out to shake the tall old man's rough hand.

"A pleasure to have you here, captain."

"The pleasure's all mine."

"I've heard what your crew has done for Mr. Landon's team. We can't thank you enough."

Jim nodded stoically as both men let go of their firm grips.

"It's a shame that would be the reason to this coincidence."

"Yes, about that; what exactly did you need to tell me, admiral?"

The grey haired man opened his mouth but closed it before he could actually answer.

"Why don't we head to my office?"

A few minutes later both Nox and Jim are standing in a spacious room with a magnificent view to the city displayed from the tech glass windows just behind the admiral's desk.

"Drink?" The man offered Jim as he headed towards the row of exquisite looking bottles and glasses set on a small iron table in a corner of the room.

"Sure, I'll have one." The blonde man said more out of cordiality since he knew he'd be having more than enough that evening.

The admiral smiled as he proceeded to pouring the drinks.

"As you're aware of, captain, each colony has a number of outposts nearby to serve as a sort of bridge between the planet and any visitors."

"Yes, I know." Jim stepped up closer to the man, wishing that he'd stop beating around the bush.

"Well, recently one of our outputs in the northwestern border sent us some very interesting news."

"Interesting how?" The captain took the drink that Nox held out as he kept his gaze fixed on the admiral.

"Signals. In a language none of our communications officers could recognize." Nox took a sip of his drink as Jim simply stared back at him with a twinkle in his eye.

"Do you think it's a threat?"

The admiral cocked his head while shrugging.

"Who knows? The specialist say it wasn't a transmission."

Jim furrowed his brows, more confused than ever.

"More like a beacon. Whoever sent the signals aren't trying to contact us... They're monitoring us."

"Have you sent any probes to find out why?" Jim questioned, excited and nervous simultaneously.

"That's why I've called you, captain. The signal doesn't trace back to it's original location. Only thing we know is that it's coming from past the Breen Confederacy. You're crew is on an exploratory mission, isn't it?"

"You mean... This might be the first contact we have with a probable new species?"

"That's exactly what I mean, captain."

Jim grinned.

"We'll keep an eye out."

Back at the hotel pretty much all the crew members were either taking a look around the city, chatting in the lobby's bar, already getting a pre-party buzz going, or resting in their suites.

Sulu and Chekov had just returned from the National Guayani Museum of Flora and Wildlife when the helmsman noticed his current crush walking around the outskirts of the hotel.

"Go ahead." Chekov suddenly said causing Sulu to look back at him.

"What?"

"You vant to go talk to your girlfriend, right?"

Sulu chuckled as he slightly blushed.

"She's not my girlfriend, Pavel."

"Yeah, yeah, you're just friends. I know ze drill." The young man smirked as he walked off, leaving Sulu to go after Alcantara.

He tried to casually make an entrance but the girl was too focused of the beeping device she was holding to even realize there was someone standing next to her until he spoke up.

"Hey there." Sulu greeted, leaning in to level with the lady.

Alcantara's head popped back up and as soon as she caught sight of the familiar face she responded.

"Oh, hi, Sulu."

"What are you doing?" The man smiled as he eyed the tricorder in the doctor's hand.

"I read an article stating that most colony's haven't been 100% tested for preceding lifeforms so I-"

"So you're alien hunting."

The woman looked to the side as she tried to formulate a better way to put that.

"I mean, my thesis was on xenophysiology."

"I get it, it's actually kinda... Cute."

Natalya looked back down to the null report on her tricorder as she made a face at Sulu's comment, which he didn't catch.

"Tell you what, I'll let you tell me all about it at the festival later."

"Uh..." The woman looked less than pleased.

Sulu cocked his head and took a step closer to her.

"I know you're not big on parties..."

Natalya took a deep breath and Sulu put his hands on her shoulders.

"But please, bear with me just this time and I promise we'll be back to our five years of routine before you know it." The guy joked as the woman in front of him flashed a crooked grin and nodded.

"Thank you." A small peck on the lips and the man was walking along.

"See you later, ok!" He called out as the girl smiled a slightly forced smile, confirming her presence.

* * *

The hiss and pop of fireworks reverberated across the shore as light flooded the night sky.

Music played as people talked and laughed all around the blazing pyre in the center of the celebration.

"What exactly is this festival about?" Alcantara asked already tired of the thirty minutes of standing around with Sulu as they talked and watched the commotion around them.

"Apparently it's the colony's first decade anniversary." The man answered as he nibbled at a appetizer which he'd been offered from one of the waitresses.

Alcantara nodded as she kept looking around.

Over on the right she could see Jim obviously flirting with some natives who seemed to be enjoying the attention. The sight didn't entertain the doctor very much and she kept her eyes wandering. There were a variety of other crew mates she recognized in the midst of the party but one in particular caught her eye.

Dancing in the crowd was lieutenant Uhura. Natalya noticed she was alone and found that somewhat curious since she'd heard stories upon stories of the woman's tendencies to try to get her Vulcan boyfriend to loosen up at social gatherings such as these. As if noticing the doctor's lingering eyes Sulu turned to the direction which Alcantara was staring at.

"Want to dance?" The man asked with a wide smile.

Alcantara was well aware that Sulu was quite the dancer and though she did enjoy watching his proficiency in not stumbling over his feet she wasn't exactly inspired to dance in front of everyone.

"Uh, you go ahead. I'm going to... Get myself another drink." The girl raised her half full cup as she shined a tiny smile at the man.

"You sure? It'll be fun."

She nodded.

"You'll have to forgive me, I'm not so bold when it comes to dancing."

"One of these days." The man eyed Alcantara who shrugged.

"Who knows?" She replied before he started off into the crowd as a different tune started playing.

As soon as he was out of her sight Alcantara looked around at the party. Certainly it was beautiful and she could appreciate the effort the decorators must have put into the preparation but it didn't help that she was feeling twice as out of place.

The lady started towards the bar and noticed she was getting a little dizzy. As soon as she sat on one of the high chairs she ordered a bottle of water to flush her system. She knew alcohol took drastic turns in her body and that obviously wasn't conductive of any situation she'd like to end up in.

She was halfway through the bottle as she sat watching Sulu having fun and wishing she had been able to make friends from her sector she could be talking to right now when she realized she needed to use the restroom. She chugged the rest of the water as she got up.

Back at the hotel Spock had just woken up from a nap that ended up being much longer than he originally scheduled.

The man shot up from the bed with deep breaths before calming himself and regaining control of his cognitive functions in order to look over to the clock that stated he had already missed the beginning of the festival.

Spock sighed and leisurely started getting ready, knowing he was already to late to bother rushing.

When did finally arrive he wasn't too disappointed by his lack of punctuality. The scene was exactly like something Jim would love. He on the other hand was instantly discouraged to spend more than an hour at the event.

The man started walking into the crowd, hands behind his back in his usual posture as he searched for his captain. The music seemed distant and the lights all around him began to blur slightly. Spock stopped for a moment and closed his eyes as he felt that pang in his head reverb painfully. It slowly went away again and he was able to open his eyes but it might have been better if he hadn't. The Vulcan stepped away from the crowd towards the nearest hut and bent over a trash can as he heaved. The man's face went completely pale before it began turning green from embarrassment. He could hear a couple of people passing by making sounds of disgust before a more friendly voice came along.

"Mr. Spock?"

Spock lifted his eyes to see Chekov sitting at the bar to which that trash can belonged to. The ensign jumped out of his seat as he grabbed a napkin from the counter top and went over to his first officer.

"Are you alright, sir?"

Spock nodded. He wasn't entirely well but he was better than a few minutes ago.

"Iz zere anything I can do to help, sir?"

Spock took the napkin and wiped his mouth before standing up straight.

"Call, doctor McCoy."

"Right away, sir." The young man nodded incessantly as he dashed off further into the crowd, looking left and right for the doctor.

Alcantara was just leaving the bathroom when suddenly Chekov bumped into her, nearly causing the woman to fall back. Irritated she looked back to see a familiar face.

"Mr. Chekov?" The girl's brows were tightly knit as she stared at the guy.

"Doctor Alcantara, zank goodness. Please come vith me." Chekov took the girl's hand and she instantly pulled it away.

The man looked back to her and stuttered a bit before making out the reason for the rush.

"Mr. Spock is not feeling vell."

Alcantara recalled the man having seen her kissing Sulu and most definitely did not want to face him.

"Contact doctor McCoy." The girl suggested as she started to turn her back.

"I haven't zeen him anyvere and I'm afraid Mr. Spock might start throwing up again."

Alcantara knew that the navigator wouldn't simply let her go and besides that if she denied help to the first officer of her crew things might head south for her later on. The girl sighed and nodded.

"Alright. Where is he?"

Chekov led the woman to the bar where Spock was patiently waiting with his head thrown back and an uncomfortable expression on his face.

"Mr. Spock." The ensign called out as he sped up to speak to the man.

Spock opened his eyes and as soon as he noticed Alcantara he wanted to throw up again.

"I couldn't find doctor McCoy but I bumped into doctor Alcantara, sir."

Spock simply looked from the boy to Alcantara and closed his eyes again.

Chekov looked to the girl worriedly and she sighed as she stepped up to the man. The girl observed the sweat on Spock's brow and his slightly chapped lips.

She knew she would have to touch him and internally cursed about how this is why she only attended with a crew complete with nurses who could check tribal things like temperatures and malaise.

"Vell?" The navigator questioned whether the girl was going to do more than just stare at the man and Alcantara looked from him to Spock awkwardly.

"I-" The doctor stuttered and looked back to Spock who had opened his eyes by now.

The first officer stared at the girl before pushing her out of the way to throw up in the trash can besides them again.

"I need my supplies." She turned back to Chekov who nodded.

"Can you head up to the hotel and get them for me?" She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out the card to her suite.

"Yes." The boy nodded over and over and Alcantara handed him the card.

"It's a little blue bag with the Starfleet medical insignia sown on the side. I think I left it in the bathroom."

"Got it." Chekov confirmed and started running towards the hotel.

As soon as he'd left Alcantara turned back to the Vulcan and shook her head before pulling out her phone.

Despite her attempts to contact Bones the man's phone was off and soon Chekov was back with the bag and her keycard.

"Thank you, Mr. Chekov."

"You're velcome. Is zere anyzing else?"

"No, that's all." Alcantara answered as she rummaged in the bag for the one thing she wanted the most; a pair of gloves. Spock noticed the doctor's rush to get them.

"I'll go tell ze captain you're not feeling vell, sir." Chekov suddenly announced.

"No!" Spock raised his voice and the ensign stopped dead in his tracks.

"I don't want to worry anyone else."

Chekov looked from Spock to Alcantara who nodded.

"Don't worry Mr. Chekov I've got this under control. It's probably just some discomfort caused by the difference in oxygen levels on the planet." The girl gave a half assed prognosis just to settle the young man down.

"Alright zen, if you say so."

Alcantara nodded and Chekov started walking away.

"Hey, you mind checking up on him somewhere else. It's bad for business if people are throwing up next to customers." The bartender suddenly called out to Alcantara to which the girl shot back a death glare before looking to Spock.

"Can you manage walking a little?"

The guy nodded as he stood and the doctor ordered a bottle of water before helping Spock further from the party.

When the two were far enough away from the commotion Spock sat down on the sand.

"Here. Drink as much as you can." Alcantara handed him the bottle and placed the back of her gloved hand on his forehead.

The man gulped down a good half of the bottle as the girl went back to the blue bag for something.

Alcantara tried to maintain the situation as professional as possible as she pulled out a pressure gauge.

The usual questioning began as she rolled up his left sleeve.

"You're temperature is a bit high. Did you eat anything that Vulcans may have trouble assimilating?"

"No." Spock groaned.

"Have you had any alcoholic drinks recently?"

"No."

The woman stopped for a moment, looking rather thoughtful as she stared at the numbers displayed on the device.

"Doctor?" Spock brought her to again as he stared at her.

The doctor removed the gauge and took out her stethoscope, placing it on the right corner of Spock's abdomen, where the Vulcan heart is located. She gasped lightly but the man heard it clearly.

"Doctor Alcantara?" Spock called again, becoming concerned by the woman's reactions.

"When was your last Pon Farr?"

The Vulcan seemed shocked by the question.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry to have to ask such a personal question but I need some history to accurately diagnose you and seeing as I'm not your regular physician... And we couldn't locate Dr. McCoy this is the only way, sir."

Spock stopped for a moment as he gazed into Alcantara's serious eyes.

"Five years ago."

The girl cocked her head to the side, visibly stumped before her eyes opened wide with realization.

"Is there something wrong, doctor?"

Suddenly there was a crack of thunder as a few drops of rain started coming down.

"Oh no." Alcantara stared up at the dark sky and quickly started packing her equipment back in the bag.

"Doctor, would it be possible for you to tell me what's going on?" Spock stood up and questioned with a harsh tone.

Alcantara snapped back to look at Spock's annoyed expression.

"Sir, your heart is beating twice as fast as normal."

"Doctor Alcantara, you do understand I'm Vul-"

The man didn't even finish his sentence before the girl replied.

"Commander, with all due respect, I'm aware of what is considered a normal heart rate for Vulcan's so I can assure you that's not normal."

Spock stared at the girl, speechless.

Alcantara sighed and kneeled back down in the sand as she pushed some things around.

"I'm sorry, sir. The best I can do for you right now is give you some Lectrazine for your heart and..." The doctor shook her head.

"Perhaps Hyronalin."

"Hyronalin?" Spock repeated shocked and confused by why he would need medication against radiation poisoning.

Alcantara stood back up with two pills in her hands which she handed out and Spock took reluctantly.

"I strongly advise you to get more in depth exams and speak to Commander Scott about double checking the security of the ship's reaction chamber."

Spock didn't know how to respond and simply stared at the woman who stared back at him before running off as the rain began to thicken.

The man looked down to the pills in his hand and then looked back to the doctor whose figure he could barely make out by now.

From what Spock had understood, he was poisoned.


	5. Chapter 4

Jim ran up to Spock as they headed down the halls of the Enterprise, ready to return to their original course.

"Hey, Spock. What happened I thought I asked you to go to the festival yesterday."

The first officer looked to his friend calmly.

"Yes, forgive me captain, I wasn't feeling well."

"Oh, ok. You should have went though. It was real fun before it started raining." Jim smirked then looked over to the man besides him.

"Hey?"

Spock snapped back from his far off thoughts and looked to Kirk.

"You sure you're ok."

"Completely, sir. I was simply calculating how long it will take us to get back on schedule."

Jim rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about it. I have a feeling this little pit stop was more useful than it seemed."

As soon as they walked in Spock turned to head to his post and avoid anymore of Jim's questions regarding last night however the first officer stopped dead in his tracks.

Just ahead of him, at Uhura's spot there was a yellow shirted man who wasn't part of the bridge's main crew standing besides her. The two were speaking casually but there was an ever present smile on the woman's lips. Spock didn't exactly know how to react. Obviously he was shocked; granted it had been a month since he and Uhura had broken up however he presumed she'd need a bit more time to process the new status especially given how much she'd insisted on them not separating.

Jim stood besides his friend and the two exchanged a look as they observed the lady lightly touch the guy's hand and nod.

Spock cocked his head wondering if this display was honest or simply something she was doing to show how easily he could be forgotten.

Jim shook his head as he friendly slammed his hand on Spock's back.

"How's that for making a scene?" Kirk teased the Vulcan who looked over to him while quirking a brow.

The captain went forward and Pavel, who was readying the ship looked back and noticed his higher ups.

"Captain on ze bridge." The Russian announced as the two men walked in and headed towards their stations.

The man Uhura was speaking to looked over to see Spock walking past them. He stood straighter, in a type of salute, as the first officer eyed him.

"Sir."

Spock only nodded to acknowledge the command lieutenant's greeting and went along to his place.

Uhura was straight faced as she watched her ex but when the yellow shirt turned back to her she arched her brows and shot him a look as if to tease him of the way he saluted Spock. The man shot an embarrassed smile and dropped his shoulders into a more casual pose as Uhura giggled.

"See you later." He said as he started to turn away.

"Yes, you will." The woman answered sweetly and went back to her control panel as the man left.

When she sat back down Jim was already giving order for readjustments on coordinates to continue their route farther out into the depths of the Alpha quadrant.

* * *

"Sir?" Alcantara repeated as she stood in front of her CMO stating the report for the replenishments they'd gotten at Guayana 08.

Bones rubbed his temples and just barely nodded. You didn't need to be a doctor to know that the man had done some hard drinking the night before. Alcantara tweaked her lips as she observed the doctor looking down at the PADD and thought about how that's probably the reason he was nowhere to be found during Spock's episode.

"Alright, just... Send me a copy and I'll check it... Later."

The girl nodded, though McCoy didn't see it since he was closing his eyes, before walking out of medbay's main wing. She was well aware of how slow things were going to be during the less eventful parts of the exploratory mission but she still didn't find that a good enough excuse to binge drink the first chance they got.

Natalya got back to her office and had just sat the PADD down when she received a message on her phone.

It was Sulu.

The woman took a deep breath as she reached for the device.

Although she'd run back to ask Pavel to not mention what happened with Spock and then rushed to meet with Sulu as soon as it started raining she still got a pretty bad reaction from the man. In the end she had to make up some excuse so that he didn't think she'd purposely ditched him but she was sure he wasn't exactly ok with it.

The helmsman brushed her off that evening and she simply had to wait and see where they were going from there.

Despite not having strong romantic feelings for the man Natalya was still very afraid of having him give up on her. She needed him. And it wasn't for conventional or even emotional reasons. What Sulu represented to the doctor was something much more complicated and if she was honest she wasn't all too proud of it either.

Looking down to the phone she read his message about having dinner after their shift today. The relief she felt to see he had somewhat forgiven her was expressed through her letting out a silent breath as she responded a simple "sure".

Just then there was a knock at the woman's door and she set her phone aside as she swiped her hand to open the door.

In came one of the nurses Natalya was responsible for and the girl made sure to look as professional as possible, fearing that the older woman wouldn't respect her otherwise.

She walked forward to the door as the nurse went on.

"Dr. Alcantara, commander Spock said he had an appointment with you."

Alcantara furrowed her brows and turned her head slightly to see Spock standing at the entrance of the B wing, his back turned to them as he waited and his hands clasped behind him. Looking back to the nurse in front her the girl nodded.

"Send him in."

The woman nodded back and headed over to speak to the first officer.

Alcantara sighed as she looked over her phone one last time before heading to the examination room to see both Spock and the nurse.

"Thank you, Ms. Gilligan."

The redhead nodded before heading out.

Alcantara waited until she was far enough and stepped forward, stethoscope already in hand.

"You seem irritated, doctor. Is something the matter."

The lady held back the need to scoff at the Vulcan's question and instead lightly shook her head.

"No, sir."

There was complete silence for a moment and then Alcantara was removing the device.

"You're heart rate seems to have returned to normal. Did you take the pills?"

Spock nodded.

"The nausea has subsided as well." He added.

The doctor nodded, putting her hands in that telltale position; politely held in front of her. Spock noticed she had gloves on again. Alcantara took a breath and turned around, grabbing her PADD and Spock cocked his head.

"Would you like me to contact Dr. McCoy to schedule your exams, sir?"

The man furrowed his brows as Alcantara stared back at him.

"Or would you be heading down there now?"

There was a pause.

"Actually, Dr. Alcantara. I was hoping _you_ would conduct my examinations."

The woman looked down at the device in her hands again, unwilling to say what she was really thinking to her superior.

"If your diagnosis is correct then I assume you understand the implications that come with it."

Alcantara's brown pupils darted back up to the man. She knew exactly what he was talking about; Trillium-D poisoning took a rather odd effect on Vulcans.

It seemed the chemical created symptoms similar to that of ecstasy on the human body.

"I wouldn't want to get any more people involved unless I absolutely must."

Alcantara could understand that. She just couldn't believe she'd been the one to get involved in all this. Despite everything she still had her duties as a doctor.

"Surely, sir." She stepped up to turn on the evaluating machine connected to the biobed and turned to put her PADD back down.

"Please remove your shirt and lay straight down on the biobed."

Spock did as he was told and was glad he had taken the pills earlier otherwise this particular situation could have caused him a certain level of embarrassment.

Natalya returned and started to hover a tricorder over the man's chest, watching the data on the device carefully.

Again that distinct silence set in between the two.

"I understand you and Mr. Sulu are in a romantic relationship." Spock started out of the blue.

Alcantara simply looked at the Vulcan's face and then returned her gaze to the machine.

"We've been out a few times, I suppose."

The man raised his brows and thought of how the doctor's answer seemed much less enthusiastic than Sulu who would speak to Chekov about the girl every so often.

"I simply inquired because I understood you were accompanied by him at the festival last night."

This time Alcantara looked up and kept looking.

"I assume I owe you an apology of sorts."

The woman cocked her head and Spock looked straight at her.

"Forgive me if I've caused any inconvenience between you two."

Just then the tricorder beeped and the doctor switched her view to it, leaving Spock in an awkward situation.

He stared up at the ceiling as Alcantara read the report on the tricorder.

"The medication may have had effectively subsided the symptoms but from the readings you're still exposed to the chemical though in much lower quantities this time."

She looked back to Spock and motioned for him to sit up. He did as he was told and the girl went to the counter to prepare a hypospray for a blood sample. Her back was facing Spock as she prepared the tool.

"Apology accepted, sir." Her voice suddenly broke the quiet in the room.

Spock looked to the woman who still had her back to him and then she turned around.

"I'm going to need a blood sample. Is that alright?"

The man nodded and Alcantara continued with the injection. As she flicked the now half full glass container of the hypospray a couple times she looked back to the man, less annoyed than when he first came in.

"Commander Spock, with all due respect, I'd prefer if you didn't comment on Mr. Sulu and I."

The first officer quirked a brow as he eyed the woman.

"Surely, doctor, however it was lieutenant Sulu himself has made your interactions known. I deduced that meant the both of you had decided to be public with your relationship."

Alcantara was motionless. She didn't want to deny the fact that she was involved with Sulu but she didn't want it to be known by everyone either.

"It's very complex, Mr. Spock." She looked down, seeming rather defeated.

"I see." The man answered and there was silence once more.

"I'll contact you once the results are in, sir."

Spock nodded and put his shirt back on in an instant before standing and heading to the door.

"Dr. Alcantara. Thank you."

The woman looked to him and nodded before Spock took a good look at how she seemed worried but left as soon as possible, fearing he might worsen the situation.

* * *

That evening after their shift was over, Spock tried to leave as quickly and quietly as possible before anyone, specifically Kirk, kept him from getting some very urgent business done.

As the first officer was heading towards the turbolift he ended up crossing paths with Uhura. The tension between the two was noticeable but both of them were able to keep a straight face and at least some level of respect.

"Lieutenant." Spock acknowledged the woman and she simple stared at him before practically forcing herself to answer him.

"Commander."

Silence.

"Would you like to proceed first?" Spock offered although he would much rather just go ahead and get the question he had for Scotty off his chest.

Uhura cocked her head and eyed Spock for a moment before looking down to her phone.

"No, I'm..." she looked back up, face as still as a rock.

"I'm waiting to meet with someone, actually."

Spock stopped for a second. Although he was still absolutely certain he'd made the right choice by breaking up with Uhura he couldn't help but feel a certain sting to his ego when she said that.

"Very well." He nodded slightly and headed into the turbolift himself, hands clasped behind him and his per usual emotionless demeanor on his face as the metallic doors closed and he was taken to the lower decks of the ship.

Getting to the the engineering deck Spock tried to seem as inconspicuous as possible while he searched for the chief of the station.

It wasn't long though before he heard the man with the distinct Scottish accent vividly yammering at his small alien friend about something he couldn't quite make out.

"Mr. Scott?"

Just as Spock had called the man's name he came out from around the corner, pulling at his red uniform shirt as he noticed his first officer.

"Ah, Mr. Spock, didn't see you there. Too busy with this, ay." Scotty was rubbing a cloth over a gooey green stain on his shirt and Spock looked down at it for a moment, somewhat curious as to what it was, before recalling why he was there in the first place and looking back up.

"Sorry, sir, what can I do for you?" The engineer seemed to realize that Spock was probably there for something important seeing as he didn't usually pay visits to that part of the ship unless there was a mission.

"Mr. Scott what are the latest reports involving the ship's reaction chambers?"

Scotty looked up as if trying to recall the last recorded data involving that particular device and mumbled as he shook his head.

"From what I can remember it was all running smoothly, sir. Trillium-D stable, all the pieces aligned... Why?" Suddenly the red shirt got curious as to the reason behind Spock's question and looked straight at the man.

Spock straightened his posture and looked right back at him.

"That information is classified. I'd like you to send me the report so I can take a look. Would that be possible?"

Scotty seemed somewhat perplexed by the secretive nature of the commanders visit but nods, complying despite his confusion.

"Of course. I'll have it sent to you tomorrow."

Spock gives a slight nod.

"Thank you, Mr. Scott." He turns and starts leaving only to stop abruptly and turn back around to face the man once more.

"Oh, and Mr. Scott, I'd prefer that you'd keep from mentioning this meeting of ours to anyone else."

Scotty hummed an ok and Spock went back on his way. The red shirt looked around himself, completely befuddled by what had just happened but shook his head as he blinked it off and returned to rubbing the blob off his attire.


	6. Chapter 5

The window's clear glass fogged up as Alcantara's breath blew against it. The woman was staring out into the star sprinkled darkness with her head leaned against the circular window of her room. To join Starfleet had always been her dream; ever since she was twelve years old she'd been dead set on making it to space. Having both mother and father be doctorates working for Starfleet caused the girl to always be very close to interplanetary matters, even more so as she entered high school and discovered things about herself that would become the drive to all her goals.

The woman looked from the window to her hands, the last part of her that was rebuilding her second skin. Her face looked distressed and regretful and emotionless all at once. Turning back she observed the blinking numbers on her bedside table; 4 o'clock. Her eyes wondered from the clock to Sulu still sleeping in her bed. This had only been the second time they'd slept together but Alcantara knew that he was a pretty heavy sleeper so she was free to go about her morning routine without worrying about waking him up.

Just as she was heading for the shower she caught sight of something different outside. Looking back out the window Alcantara saw the source of the soft pink hue pouring into her bedroom. It seemed to be a moon of sorts and just behind it was a planet twice as big and much darker in color. She stared out at the planet anxious for the science team's report as to what class it was.

An hour later Sulu slowly opened his eyes as his phone, which was thrown to the left of the bed, started beeping, warning him he had an hour before his shift started. Reaching out to stop the annoying sound the man looked over to notice the woman he'd spent the night with. Alcantara was already dressed in another pair of her blue uniform dress and black boots and was heading towards a pot of coffee across the room when she realized the helmsman had woken up.

"Good morning." Sulu shot a lazy grin at the woman as he got up from the bed and headed towards her.

He seemed as if he was going to give her a kiss and so Alcantara handed him a mug full of the warm drink and smiled a bit to avoid it. Sulu didn't notice, instead he received the coffee and as he took the first sip Alcantara picked up her PADD checking the list of duties she had for today.

"Looks like your going to have an exciting day." She finally spoke as she looked back up from the device.

Sulu mumbled in questioning as the stark brown taste flowed warmly down his throat, waking him up slowly but surely. Alcantara looked to the window and nodded in its general direction causing the man to turn around and notice the planet just outside.

"Ahh..." The helmsman's brows arched as he observed the new sight.

"Do you think it's class M?" The woman asked genuinely curious and Sulu looked back at her, noticing how entranced she seemed, and admired her gaze for a moment.

"Maybe, we'll have to wait for Spock's report."

At the sound of the name the woman recalled the very serious matter she'd recently been involved with regarding the science officer.

"Right." She replied, barely audible.

Sulu took another sip of the coffee as Alcantara suddenly started picking up her phone and PADD while heading towards the door.

She was sure to always be at the B wing very early and this time it happened to serve the dual purpose of not letting anyone see her and Sulu come out of her room together so early in the morning.

"See you later." The man called out as the doctor was half way out the door.

Alcantara turned and shot him a tight lipped smile as she hummed in affirmation and left.

Reaching the sickbay Alcantara noticed Bones was just opening up as well and she hoped that meant he was back to his right mind.

"Good morning, Dr. McCoy."

McCoy looked back and noticed the woman. He'd heard some of the other Med staff from her wing mention how serious and quiet the lady was so having her greet him so casually caught him a bit off guard.

"Morning, Dr. Alcantara." The man smiled a crooked grin and decided to see if he could get her to talk some more.

"Did ya see the giant?" McCoy was referring to the planet they were currently circling.

Alcantara seemed to beam as she responded.

"I did, sir. I wonder what we'll discover."

Bones liked the look of excitement on the young woman's face. He thought it beat the usual seriousness in which she carried herself.

"What're you hoping to find?"

At that Alcantara made sure to be cautious as to what she would answer. Most of her quiet persona was built around the fact that she had secrets she was not at all willing to give up and so answering personal questions had always been a type of minefield for the woman.

"Well I suppose that a new civilization is somewhat interesting, so long as it's friendly."

"Ha! I guess some people actually do believe that Ad Astra bull, huh?" Bones joked sarcastically, which was the only way he did know how to joke, however Alcantara wasn't the kind of person that liked jokes much, sarcastic or not.

"I guess so."

There's a moment of silence.

"I suppose I should go set up the B wing, sir." She looked to her CMO awkwardly, hoping he'd let her carry on.

McCoy cleared his throat and nodded, feeling just as awkwardly about his icebreaker gone terribly wrong.

"Sure. You go ahead and do that."

Alcantara nodded and went on her way.

Reaching the B wing the woman went straight to the task at hand; checking Spock's blood sample.

The first thing she did was head into her office to make sure the sample was still safely set in there. When she made sure it was she went after the actual testing device itself. By the time she'd gotten the glossy, high tech, white box set up and the dark green fluid was introduced and prepared to be spun in a nauseating to and fro movement for a couple of hours, the rest of the B wing's staff had arrived and the doctor had to leave her office to tend to her actual job.

* * *

The entire deck was in anxious silence. The only noises heard we're the beeping coming from the first officer's panel as he made countless calculations and went over various readings.

Finally there was a different type of sound and a result scrolled onto the Vulcan's screen.

"Mr. Spock?" Kirk looked over to his friend and the man turned back from his control panel with a nod.

"Class M, captain."

Everyone on the bridge seemed to get more excited about the discovery seeing as how now there was an obligatory exploration mission to be completed.

"Lieutenant Uhura, scan for life forms."

"Yes, captain."

Uhura began clicking a series of buttons and everyone was quiet as the woman concentrated on hearing anything similar to the vast number of languages she could recognize coming from the universal translator.

Suddenly she perked up, pressing her headset a little closer to her ear.

"I'm picking up a signal."

Everyone watched her with baited breath.

"They're hailing us, captain." She turned to Kirk and he nodded with a smile.

"Well, let's see who it is."

A few seconds went by as Uhura expertly translated the new language as best she could.

"It seems to be some dialect of Ferengi, sir. I'll try to use that and hope the UT can pair it to their form of speaking."

"Hello, this is Lieutenant Uhura of the U.S.S Enterprise. Our crew has received your signal and come with no intention of harm. If you read us, please respond." The woman said all this in Ferengi of course and everyone simply waited for her next translation.

Suddenly she raised her brows and turned to Kirk again.

"It worked."

Kirk nodded in return as he waited for further information.

"They say their people are suffering of some sort of disease and it's been spreading. They ask that if we're capable of helping them in any way to please do so as quickly as possible."

Everyone seemed to be looking from Uhura to Kirk awaiting a command related to the new information.

Kirk had on a cheeky grin, knowing his CMO would be pissed by the proposition he had for him.

"I'll go get him." The blonde said hopping out of his chair and heading towards the turbolift.

Back at sickbay Bones had just finished paging his head of B wing to the main room. He'd just received an Edosian crew member who'd managed to break two of his three legs and decided to ask Alcantara to help out as a sort of pretext to excuse himself for his joke earlier that morning.

"Ever put a cast on an Edosian before?" He questioned as he walked up to Alcantara with some pictures of the patients legs.

"Yes, but only their arm. Edosian legs are angled which makes them difficult to reposition correctly."

"That's right. I'll do the left and you can take the middle one." McCoy stated as he and the woman took a look at the X-rays.

"Surely, doctor."

He looked from the X-rays to the woman.

"Uh, listen, I'm sorry about what I said this morning."

Alcantara faced the man as she observed how genuinely embarrassed he was for the joke.

"I didn't know you were so... passionate about it." McCoy cocked his head and Alcantara simply stared back at how her superior officer felt obliged to apologize to her over something so trivial.

Maybe he was more intuitive than she'd originally imagined. Nonetheless the whole subject was something Alcantara didn't like getting into much and she quickly decided to cut it short.

"Dr. McCoy, it's fine. I wasn't offended."

The man grinned awkwardly and was about to say something when he was cut short.

"Bones! Come on, get ready, the planet's a class M and it's inhabitants are in the middle of some sort of epidemic." Kirk came through the halls of the sickbay in his usual authoritarian stance as he beamed at his friend.

Alcantara perked up when she heard a team would be going down to the planet but quickly caught herself and tried her best to keep quiet as her captain mentioned it all.

Although she had readjusted her reaction Bones happened to be quite observant, a trait you pick up from years of practicing medicine on, as he would put it, lunatics who rather die in space than admit they're sick.

"You said they got some sorta illness?"

"Almost all of them." Kirk answered back while repositioning himself anxious to get a move on.

"And they say it gets worse at night so hurry -" He flailed his hands to show he was in a rush but was cut off before he could finish.

"I can't." The CMO stated simply and both Alcantara and Kirk stared back at the man with wild looks on their faces.

"I got a man with two broken legs here. I can't just leave him to go on a mission." The man shook his head as he turned with the X-rays.

Alcantara watched the doctor give the most ridiculous excuse she'd ever heard and Kirk was absolutely certain something was going on.

"Well someone's gotta see to them." The captain pushed back and Bones shot him a look from the female doctor's blindside that helped Kirk understand what he was doing.

"Send Alcantara."

The woman suddenly stood up straighter upon hearing McCoy's recommendation. Kirk looked over to her and she was dead still for a second as the captain eyed her.

"Why her?"

"She specialized in xenophysiology; she probably has more of an idea on what to do to examine them than I ever would."

Kirk eyed the CMO, curious as why he was being so nice to the newcomer but decided to roll with it and question him later.

"Alright." The blonde nodded and looked back to Alcantara.

"Get your things, doctor. We'll meet at the transporter deck in 10 minutes."

Alcantara nodded as she stood in her trademark stance.

"Right away, sir."

Kirk grinned and started turning back while eyeing both the doctors.

When he did finally leave Alcantara looked back to her CMO still slightly flabbergast by the opportunity he'd granted her.

"Dr. McCoy, thank you so much, sir."

"Don't thank me just yet. You're going to be the one checking if... 'the civilization is friendly'." Bones quoted the woman's answer from earlier with a raised brow and a grin.

Alcantara now understood why the doctor had given such a terrible excuse in order to stay. She didn't hesitate to smile slightly at the man before rushing back to her wing to get her away kit. Bones watched how thrilled she looked and smiled at himself before shaking his head.

"Excited to go to tend to a bunch of sick aliens."

He looked back to the nurse who was coming up to him about the Edosian and soon his usual scrunched up expression returned.

"I know, I know." He mumbled, heading towards the bed where the crew mate was moaning in pain.

* * *

Back at the transporter deck Spock was finishing checking his belt for the equipment necessary on those types of missions. Along with them were a couple of guards who were going mostly because the Vulcan first officer had warned Kirk the whole thing could be a trap. The captain didn't believe that but he ordered two ensigns to go with them for protection and to shut Spock up.

"Mr. Spock." Scotty called out to the man and he looked up to him, already having a clue as to what he wanted to say.

Spock reached him and stood with his hands behind his back as the man pulled out his PADD and briefly showed the reports and schematics of the ship's Trillium-D chambers.

"These are from the day we set off, sir."

"And it's been functioning regularly since that time?"

"Aye, sir. We haven't had any trouble with it yet so there's only been routine maintenance but if you want we can do a full inspection."

Spock shook his head.

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Scott. I'll be sure to read the reports after I return."

"Aye, sir." The man nodded again as Spock was turning back.

Just then Alcantara entered the deck and both she and Spock eyed each other as they went towards the transporter.

Although Alcantara had grown somewhat accustomed to the curse of a ship doctor, which was running into the very same people she treated for some of the most embarrassing things, she still hadn't gotten any more fond of it than the first time. That said, Spock also wasn't liking this at all. The two most reclusive and socially inept people on the Enterprise had stumbled into a situation neither of them would have consciously gotten themselves into if they would have known better.

Trying their best to seem casual the two stood side by side as they awaited their leader.

"I assume Dr. McCoy wasn't able to come along." The Vulcan said as he stepped onto one the glowing circles of the transporter.

"He's treating a patient with two fractured legs. I was assisting him when the captain announced the mission; Dr. McCoy recommended I go in his place."

Spock nodded.

"If the doctor recommended you then surely you'll do well."

Alcantara couldn't quite make out if that was her commander's way of being friendly or not but didn't even have the time to ponder on it much longer seeing as Kirk abruptly walked in and started giving out orders to each member of the party.

"Alright, so according to Uhura their communication spot is about a mile from their village but they're waiting for us so no worries, we have a guide." The blonde announced to the four others who would be going down with him.

They all nodded in return, some responding with "yes, captain."

Kirk smiled and jumped onto the transporter as well then looked back to Scotty.

"Beam us down, Mr. Scott." He ordered and the man nodded while adjusting the controls.

Bright lights swirled around them and in a flash their molecules were getting rebuilt on the planet below.

As soon as they were physically intact once more the crew looked around, trying to get a clue of the new surroundings as quickly as possible.

Alcantara was doing her best to keep her excitement under wraps but her rising chest and bright eyes were betraying her intentions. Kirk noticed and smirked at how those who weren't accustomed to away missions seemed to be so impressed by the different landscapes they discovered.

This planet wasn't half as outstanding as some he'd seen but it was still quite interesting. It seemed the pink color the planet reflected was due to the vast plains of water of the same color that surrounded them in nearly all their left side. The rest of the world seemed to be nothing but tall copper toned trees and golden brown dirt in wave type patterns.

The blonde looked up to the sky and saw the enormous body they'd originally thought was the planet was in fact the planet's moon. He was taken from further observing the beautiful anomaly by one of the ensigns calling his title.

"Captain!"

Kirk turned to see the red shirt standing in front of what he assumed was the one to have made contact with the ship. Kirk looked to Alcantara and the woman suddenly looked much less in awe than just a few seconds ago as she pulled out her tricorder and lightly waved it in front of the auburn colored being.

"It's just a regular Ferengi, sir." She stated simply and looked back to Kirk.

"He does present a few irregularities, however nothing contagious." The woman lowered her tricorder and glanced back to the being, suspicious as to why'd he called for help if he seemed fine, at least outwardly.

The captain nodded and stepped forward as he fumbled with the universal translator he'd brought along.

"Hi, there. I'm Captain Kirk. We received your distress call and are here to help."

The short man furrowed his brows which happened to be connected to his large ears and took a moment as he tried to make out the language that the device was instantaneously translating.

Kirk looked back at his crew mates.

"The device can only do so much, captain." Spock explained.

"Lieutenant Uhura mentioned they use a dialect of Ferengi so even the translator may be difficult for them to understand."

Alcantara and the ensigns nodded lightly and just then the orange alien responded.

He spoke in some strange tongue but the machine did it's job to some extent.

"Thank you coming for us call. I am Kom. Follow me." The crew cringed at how shoddy the translation was but understood the last part well enough to go after the man as he walked forward.

As they followed their guide Spock walked beside Jim as Alcantara and the ensigns went after them.

"Captain."

"Save it, Spock. I know what you're thinking but these people are in actual trouble. I can feel it."

"Though that maybe true, sir, you do have to consider the fact he is, as the doctor put it, a regular Ferengi. He does not seem sick at all and if he is indeed like the usual Ferengi it's likely he has other intentions for contacting us."

"Spock." Kirk chuckled and looked to his friend.

"You've always been a pain in the ass but today you're beating your own record."

The Vulcan stared at his friend and Kirk lightly patted his shoulder.

"Don't presume things before we even get to know them."

Spock took a deep breath and Jim quirked a brow before he went forward to Kom with his UT, asking him more details about this epidemic he mentioned.

Spock stopped for a moment and the other three caught up to him. He quickly resumed the walk and took out his tricorder to both save data about the land and avoid having to listen to the ensigns' idol chatting like Alcantara had ended up having to.

The thing was that the doctor was only listening for the first 5 minutes of their walk. As soon as they entered the forest that was just ahead she was much more intrigued by the scenery than the conversation between the men. The trees were as tall as the redwoods on Earth only they were a glistening shade of copper and it's leaves were dark purple. The planet was completely different from anything she'd ever seen before yet they were greeted by a Ferengi as usual as one she might have seen at the Academy once or twice. The whole reason Alcantara got excited about away missions was the possibility of discovering new life forms and as glad as she was to be able to medically assist anyone she still wished to have a chance of putting the xenophysiological scientific method into practice at least once.

"Alcantara." Kirk called the woman's name and the doctor turned to her captain before walking forward to catch up to him.

The blonde had slowed down just enough to be behind the Ferengi guide and was waiting for the woman to join him. He wanted to know what had made McCoy, who was annoyed by pretty much everyone and everything, decide to be nice to his new crew mate.

"Yes, captain?"

"You ever been on an exploratory mission before?" Jim asked as he looked to her from the corner of his eye.

"No, sir. This is my first."

"You know they can be dangerous. You must be pissed at McCoy for forcing you to come instead of him."

"Dr. McCoy didn't force me. In fact he was trying to be friendly."

Kirk looked over to her face and smiled.

"McCoy? Friendly. Do me a favor, doc, and check up on him when we get back. I think he might be sick."

The man smirked as he joked and Alcantara simply cocked her head.

"I'll admit he's a bit... explosive at times but in my opinion he's been a fine chief officer."

"And what's your opinion on him as a friend."

Alcantara looked to Jim and just then realized what he was doing.

"Surely, you'd have more insight on that than me, captain. You two have known each other since the academy, am I correct?"

"You are. Which is why I can tell he's trying to make friends with you."

Alcantara looked uncomfortable as she walked alongside Jim with her gaze fixed forward before quickly eyeing him.

"With all due respect, captain, I highly doubt that."

"Why so?"

Alcantara looked back towards the path in front of them and took a breathe before responding.

"Others tend to find me unsociable. I don't like to share much information about myself and my sense of humor is different from most people's."

"But you do have one, don't you?" Kirk teased the doctor and she looked back to her captain just to see the cheesy grin on his face.

"Yes, captain." She responded simply.

"I'll make you laugh one of these days, Alcantara."

"Our mission is five years long; the odds are in your favor, sir."

Kirk watched as the doctor faced forward again as she lightly rubbed the bridge of her nose, letting her hand cover the smallest of smirks that formed on her lips and he understood why McCoy had found the woman intriguing.

As somber as she was most of the time, deep within her she still had something that made her want to relate to others. And that was just what made her so captivating; because even with all the seriousness she had, the smallest hints of friendliness she displayed were enough to keep you from hating her strange ways.

"We is here." Their guide announced via translator and everyone's full attention went to the sight ahead.

The golden brown dirt followed in the same pattern until it merged with the pink water that set out as far as the horizon. Over the water were thousands of wooden homes built atop of thick vertical logs.

There were many other Ferengi walking to and from the dock houses, nearly all of them supporting another one who looked like they were a sneeze away from death.

The members of the Enterprise stared at the deplorable scene in horror as Kom looked back to them.

Jim turned to Alcantara who was furrowing her brows as she observed the situation.

"Looks like you've got your work cut out for you, doc."


	7. Chapter 6

The ensigns looked around at all the Ferengi eyeing them as their crew headed down the wooden dock towards a larger house that was much farther out into the magenta water than the others.

In the front of the line Spock, Kirk and Alcantara were talking about prognosis and trying to figure out how the inhabitants of this planet looked exactly like Ferengi and even spoke somewhat the same language although this planet was yet unknown.

"Sir, this is definitely an epidemic. My readings have shown its internal but I need to complete some tests before knowing any details."

Kirk turned to Spock with the smuggest face he could pull and the first officer only looked back to his friend acknowledging that he was wrong to doubt the distress call.

"Mr. Spock, any idea why these people look Ferengi?"

"My only supposition up to this point is that a Ferengi vessel could have gotten stranded here."

"That would explain how they had the technology to hail us, sir." Alcantara noted and Kirk nodded slowly, taking all these things into account.

"This is chief's home." Their guide suddenly announced, causing all the rest to look forward.

The group walked up on the veranda and a guard nodded to Kom before opening the door and letting them inside.

The interior of the place looked like a museum. There was strange looking art and furniture and an entire wall of the home was open, giving view to the vast pink horizon ahead.

"This way." Kom waved to them to follow him to a hallway to the left.

They all quietly walked down the hall until the sound of coughing started to echo from a arched door at the end of the path.

Alcantara knew it was bad just from the sound of it. The woman's guess was confirmed when they entered the room to the sight of a female Ferengi covered in blankets, sweating so much it dripped from her lobes and coughing so hard she seemed like she was going to spit out a lung.

Alcantara wasted no time and walked up to the patient as soon as she saw the state she was in. Kirk turned to Kom once more as the doctor tried to get the chief's vitals and at least try to ease her coughing.

"We need more information to be able to help. If there's anything you can tell us..." Jim was suddenly interrupted.

"He can barely understand you let alone answer technical questions." The woman lying on the round fluffy bed responded through wheezes.

Alcantara stopped for a second and looked at her flabbergasted before turning back to Jim, who was equally in shock.

"You speak regular Ferengi." He stated noticing the universal translator was working perfectly with her.

"Obviously." She answered in a groggy voice while rolling her eyes before breaking out in a fit of coughing again.

Jim and Spock shared a look and the Vulcan faced the chief, ready to finally get an idea of what was going on there.

"Our crew would like to know why you're the only one who speaks common Ferengi."

The lady eyed Spock and chuckled lightly.

"Vulcans, I'm here on my death bed and he wants to know the logical facts."

Jim raised his brows at the woman who clearly knew a lot more about other civilizations than an inhabitant of an undiscovered planet would.

"Alright, I'll tell ya." She looked over to Alcantara who was wiping her brow from the sweat with a little nod as if to show she was fine.

The doctor stood back and watched along with the others as she sat up a bit, trying her best to look at least a little dignified.

"Kom, disobeyed direct orders." This time she was speaking in the dialect as she eyed the crew's former guide with a serious expression.

"Chief help needed. All we agreed." The man answered flustered and motioning with his hands.

The woman softened her expression a bit but shook her head.

"Leave transmitters on. Crew these people need machines."

From the bit the members of the Enterprise were understanding they could make out that it wasn't the chief's idea to signal for help.

Kom nodded and headed out of the room as quickly as possible.

Everyone looked back to the woman and she sighed, coughed a bit and started speaking.

"I'm guessing you wanted to leave the planet undiscovered?" Jim commented as he eyed the lady.

She shrugged and started explaining.

"My husband and I were born and raised in Ferenginar. When we met I knew he was the one for me; he was one of the rare male Ferengi who didn't judge me for wanting equal rights for women."

The chief smiled sadly as she reminisced. Judging by both her expression and the fact she was alone, her husband was probably dead.

"For many years we lived together while I secretly worked, pretending to be a man, bringing profit to our house. That was until the counsel found out and revoked both our business licenses."

She coughed, heaved a bit and calmed herself enough to continue her story.

"Without a business license our only alternative was to leave Ferenginar. We and a few other couples who also believed in equal rights managed to illegally buy a ship and left our homes. However, during our voyage, there was malfunctions in the ship and we crash landed here."

Everyone was quite interested as the woman told the tale, specifically during this part which was beginning to tie into their current situation.

"At first we were devastated but we found a way to survive and soon realized the resources here were enough to stay. My husband was the one to decide to colonize the planet. We've been here for seven decades now and were fine until a few years ago."

"Seven decades?" One ensign repeated astonished by the amount of time.

"Ferengi can live..." Spock and Alcantara both turned to answer their crew mate before noticing their were speaking in chorus.

They eyed each other as the others around them looked at them as well. Spock cocked a brow and cleared his throat, facing away from the woman.

"Ferengi can live for many hundred years." The doctor completed and looked back to the chief as if that awkward moment hadn't happened.

Jim watched his first officer realize he wasn't the only one with unconventional knowledge and didn't even bother to hide his grin.

"That's right." The chief was grinning as well but soon seemed to worsen all over again and covered her mouth as she coughed hard.

"It started a couple years back as a slight fever season but it only lasted a few weeks. This time around it came back much harder. We've lost a couple of our elders to it. I fear I may be next."

Everyone was silent for a moment and then the coughing returned as bad as before.

Alcantara went back to her and cocked her head as she eyed the chief as serious as ever.

"I'd like to do some tests on you, mam. From what I can tell this is most likely due to something you've digested."

The Ferengi nodded and laid back down, closing her eyes as she took in a deep breath.

"Alcantara, you stay here and see what you can find out. Mr. Len, keep the doctor company in case she needs anything."

The doctor looked up to her captain and nodded.

"Yes, sir." The ensign confirmed as he stepped over towards the woman he'd been assigned to.

Jim then looked to the men standing beside him.

"Mr. Grey, Mr. Spock and I will go take a look around."

The men nodded and they all exited the room, leaving Alcantara to tend to the sick Ferengi as the ensign stood guard.

* * *

Spock squatted as he held the tricorder just a few inches over the dirt. Kirk and ensign Grey were scouting the strange forest just a few feet from him.

"Anything new, Spock?" Jim shouted out as he looked from the purple leaves to the science officer behind him.

"There are quite a few unusual compositions in the soil however nothing toxic, sir." The Vulcan responded as he eyed the readings his machine was getting.

Kirk sighed and placed his hands on his hips as he looked around the place. His vision went up to the vines heavy with what he assumed was fruit and he got a thought.

"Alcantara said it was probably something internal, right?"

"That's right." The ensign answered as he walked over to his captain.

"What about those? Maybe it has something to do with those fruit there?" The blond pointed to the tree and Spock looked up from his tricorder to see what he was talking about.

"It would be logical to explore every possibility." The man nodded and Kirk looked to the ensign.

"Mr. Grey, do you think you can get up there?"

The red shirt smirked and nodded.

"I can very well try, sir."

Meanwhile at the village the doctor was performing all the usual examinations as ensign Len stood by the door. The woman was naturally quiet and the chief had dosed off so there was a silence in the room that a certain red shirt didn't like.

"So, how're you liking the ship, so far?" The man asked as he watched Alcantara put on her gloves and lightly touch the Ferengi's ears.

There was a moment between the question and the response long enough for Len to think she wouldn't answer.

"It's fine."

When the answer finally did come the ensign was less than satisfied. He looked directly at the woman although she had her back to him as she examined on.

"I heard you're class of '58."

"That's correct." Alcantara replied briefly.

"So am I." He answered back. There wasn't any comment from the woman but Len kept talking nonetheless.

"Did you always want to go to Starfleet?"

"Yes." Alcantara stated as if it was the most obvious answer ever.

The ensign nodded and smiled.

"I wanted to be a professional surfer. I was pretty good at it. My hometown has the best beaches. You know Portmore?"

"Jamaica, yes. However not personally." The woman nodded slightly as she lifted the Ferengi's arm and ever so slightly pinched her orange fingers.

There was a hearty chuckle from the man and Alcantara turned to him as if he was crazy while he grinned at her.

"Where are you from, doctor?"

Alcantara walked from the bed to the table on the other side of the room where she'd set her equipment.

"Brazil."

"They have some great beaches there too. You like surfing?"

"I don't enjoy beaches..." The doctor turned to answer the man and trailed off as she thought of something.

"Oh." The ensign seemed a bit disappointed but the woman didn't even realize seeing as she'd rushed over for her tricorder and started hovering it over the chief's stomach.

Her brown eyes dashed over the results and she scoffed as her lips spread into a tiny smile.

"Got something, doctor?" Len asked as he walked up to the woman.

"Her sodium levels are extremely low and notice the swelling in her lobes and fingers."

The man observed the parts she'd mentioned but didn't quite understand the connection. He looked to the woman's face, waiting for further information and Alcantara walked back to the table to set down her devices.

"It's the water." She stated as she prepared to treat her patient.

"The water, huh?"

"Mr. Len, please notify the captain of the cause and state I've begun treatment."

"Right away, doctor." The red shirt nodded.

"Mr. Len." The woman called just as the ensign was leaving.

He stopped and turned back to the woman who was standing, hands in front of her and a serious look on her face.

"Thank you for mentioning the beaches. It helped me relate the symptoms to the cause."

It was obvious she was trying to be friendly despite how grave her stance made everything seem and the ensign couldn't help but smile at her strangeness.

"No problem, doctor." He replied and set off to comply to the woman's orders.

* * *

Spock and Kirk stood side by side as they watched the man climbing up the copper trunk with much more expertise than either of them could have.

"Hey, uh... Spock." The blond casually starts and the man beside him looks over.

"What do you think of Alcantara?"

Spock merely stared back at Jim, not knowing exactly what he meant by the vague question.

"I don't understand the question, captain."

"It's not a trick question, Spock. I just wanted to hear your opinion on her."

Spock still only stood there as Kirk watched Grey climbing. The captain just then realized his friend staring at him and looked back with a smirk as he shook his head lightly.

"Bones is trying to make friends with her. I suppose he must see something in her."

"I believe Dr. Alcantara hasn't shared enough personal information for me to state an opinion on her yet."

"I know... and that's what's got to me, you know? She's so... private."

"Are you suggesting that's a flaw, captain?" Spock asked calmly and Jim shook his head.

"Not exactly. It's just that sometimes you can see different parts of her personality... like back at the village just now."

Spock quirked a brow and Jim smirked again.

"Come on, Spock, everyone noticed how she's as much of a smart ass as you."

"Sir." The blue shirt simply stated and Jim rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean. It's like she a lot more than she shows."

Spock looked back to the ensign on the tree but Jim kept thinking out loud.

"Makes me wonder how Sulu got close to her."

Just then Grey shouted out to the men below stating he'd reached the fruit and was coming back down.

* * *

It had been half an hour since ensign Len had left and still he hadn't returned with the others. Alcantara had proceeded with the usual treatments of what she believed was water intoxication and finished her initial report on the situation.

Currently she was waiting at the desk as she observed the intricate decoration of the room. A gust of wind came in through the window and for the first time Natalya noticed how cold she was. What shocked her was that she was still feeling the cold despite being protected by her outer skin.

The mysterious epithelial process hadn't always been an issue to the woman. She didn't recall having it as a child and so she presumed it began from the first time she'd noticed; freshmen year.

She'd been shocked when, during a sex ed class, she realized the strange phenomena she displayed was not only unprecedented to humans but somehow related to her puberty. Having known she was adopted since she was a child helped Alcantara reach the conclusion that this anomaly was something her parent's most likely didn't know about.

Already seen as somewhat of an outcast because of her awkward social skills, the girl decided to keep it to herself, choosing to research on her own what other race's displayed the same second skin, as she'd termed it. To her dismay any loosely related subjects did not exactly describe the symptoms she had.

Even before the discovery, the girl had been influenced by her parents, both Starfleet personal, to take up space exploration. However upon the extensive and somewhat obsessive studying habits she'd developed when presented with the mysterious facts about herself she concluded she'd join Starfleet Medical.

Now, eight years later and a graduated doctor specializing in xenophysiology, Alcantara still didn't know what race she could call her kin. Nonetheless she'd studied and learned things about herself that helped her keep "normal" around others. Of all those things the most important point was her temperature. She had noticed that her core temperature was that of a normal human's hypothermia and that touching others seemed to take odds effects on her.

Basically, if Alcantara touched any skin warmer than her core temperature her own skin would retract and she'd instantly absorb the other's warmth in a type of symbiosis. Simply put, she depended on physical interaction from time to time to keep this second skin from weakening and leaving her ill. On the other hand if she did touch people, when the absorption process was complete the other party would notice the thin membrane reforming, which went against the woman's intention of keeping this secret unknown by anyone.

Alcantara looked over to the table, trying to get her mind off the slight shiver she got, and reached for her communicator.

She tried to contact Len but noticed the signal was much too weak given he was probably quite distant. Looking back to the chief she presumed she'd continue sleeping for a couple more hours, giving her just enough time to go after the men and return to check on her progress.

The woman stood, taking her communicator with her as she headed out of the house. A while later she was deep enough in the forest to try contacting the ensign with her communicator again. Unfortunately he'd moved farther out than she'd originally thought and she found herself going out just as far. She was nearly ready to turn back around and simply wait for the men when she caught sight of the vibrant rubicund uniform she would recognize a mile away the woman was relieved.

It wasn't her custom to shout or yell unless absolutely necessary and so she simply walked towards Len's direction as she put her communicator back in the small messenger style bag that hung across her chest. As she got closer she noticed he was just standing there at the edge of the pink water. A few feet closer she realized he seemed to be standing there motionlessly staring at the moon above them. Alcantara stopped dead in her tracks gaping in awe; the celestial body looked like it was dawning onto the planet due to its mear size. She was distracted long enough for the ensign to head towards a cave that was just a little walk down to the left. This brought the doctor back to her senses and she called out for the man. It seems he didn't hear her and when he began to disappear into the cave Alcantara fumbled to take out her communicator and contact him but in her hurry she accidentally dropped the device on the glistening brown dirt. By the time she'd retrieved it and prepared to call the man he was gone.

Alcantara ran forward and looked at the cave with a gleam in her eye. She could make out a faint lilac light coming from the center of the dark cave and let her curiosity guide her. As soon as she took the first step she realized the floor of the cave was wet.

As part of the cares the woman had to have with her second skin, keeping away from things that usually cooled people down easily was part of the regimen; meaning that things like the cold water under her boots weren't things she could handle too much of.

Nonetheless she pushed a bit further into the mysterious cave driven by pure wonder. It was only when a few steps in that she noticed the water was gradually getting higher; it was now reaching her thighs and although she did so against her will, the woman walked back out. She took deep breaths and shivered once more as she looked into the cave, disappointed. Pulling out her communicator she noticed Len's signal was lost again. She did however pick up the three other men's communicators nearby and decided the next best step would be to tell the captain what she'd just witnessed.

The doctor kept an eye on her device in order to find where the other three crew members were all while heaving shallow breaths and trying to dismay the obvious reality that she'd lost a significant amount of heat from just that small venture. Apparently the water on this planet was colder, probably due to the huge moon hanging above it.

When she did finally reach the men she was shaking and nearly tripping over her own feet.

"Captain." The woman called out in a quiet, breathy tone.

The three looked over to her abruptly and ran towards her when they noticed the state she was in.

"Alcantara! What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"The water... Ensign Len... disappeared... cave on the..." She wobbled and held an arm out for balance.

"On the shore." She managed to finish right before fainting.

The woman's limp body fell forward and all three men went forward to catch her.

"She said Len disappeared in some cave on the shore." Grey repeated more as a question than anything and Kirk nodded with a serious look.

"Mr. Grey, take doctor Alcantara back to the village while Spock and I try to find Len."

Grey was just about to nod in confirmation when Spock spoke up.

"Sir, my Vulcan anatomy allows me to carry the doctor with more ease and thus accelerating her arrival to the village. I believe it would be more logical for me to return with her."

Kirk nodded promptly, although he made a note of Spock's insistence, and looked over to Grey.

"Alright, Mr. Grey, let's get a move on."

As the two men rushed the same way Alcantara had arrived from Spock positioned the woman on his back and started to walk back. The weight was much less perceptive to the Vulcan than it would have been for Ensign Grey but he could still feel the pressure of the woman's body against his. At first he presumed it was only due to the fact that it was a shift in strength that made him so conscious of Alcantara but as he continued walking it became clear to him that the weight wasn't all he was noticing.

He was feeling a haze come over him like a cloudy room filled with sweet perfume; something intoxicating and wonderful all at once. His ears pricked as he noticed her small warm breaths hitting his skin, the sound twice as loud in the silent forest. The Vulcan's face felt hot and he just then noticed how firmly his large hands were gripping the doctor's thighs. Unconsciously he took note of the feeling and in the same instance shook his head. He noticed the rapid pounding in his heart and recalled the problem he was currently facing. The Trellium-D poisoning seemed to have returned now of all times and Spock explained to himself that the things he was feeling was due to his sickness.

With all these things rushing through his mind he barely realized he'd reached the village. The few Ferengi who were still healthy enough to work outside shot them looks and Spock recalled the fact that Kirk had taken the Universal Translator. Nevertheless he walked up to one of the villagers and the sight of Alcantara unconscious and hunched over his shoulder was enough to tell him what was wrong.

When Alcantara opened her eyes the first thing she saw was an orange man with some type of rudimentary scanning device over her head. When he noticed she was awake agin he stopped and looked back to Spock who was sitting at a desk, eyes closed and lightly rubbing his temples.

"Commander?" Alcantara asked quietly and Spock snapped out of it.

"Doctor." He stood and went over to the woman as the Ferengi medic shuffled away.

"How are you feeling?" The man asked, uncharacteristically concerned about feeling rather than fact.

"I'm..." The doctor looked down to her hands for any irregularities, trying to make it as casual as possible though the action still looked strange to Spock.

"Fine. Ensign Len... is he alright?"

Spock stared at the doctor and titled his head.

"The captain went after him with Ensign Grey. I brought you back to the village after you fainted."

"You... um... you carried me back?" Alcantara immediately regretted asking as soon as she did and Spock felt the tips of his ears growing green so he turned back to the desk.

"Yes." He responded in a voice that didn't express how bashful he truly was.

"You've been very helpful to me so I thought this could perhaps be a form of demonstrating my gratitude."

The woman looked a bit uncomfortable about that information but quickly changed the subject to a more important one.

"I've discovered what's been causing the sickness."

Spock looked back at her and she stared at him for a second before going on.

"It's the water. I'm not exactly sure as to the science of it however I'm certain that these people are suffering from dilutional hyponatremia."

Spock didn't exactly understand what the ailment caused but he had joined enough clues to at least make a hypothesis about what could be making the water the source of it.

"I see. In that case I'll begin testing on it immediately."

The doctor nodded slowly and recalled her own duty on that mission.

"And I'll check on the chief. If you get any new information please contact me."

"Affirmative, doctor."

* * *

Jim and the ensign gazed into the cave as the light purple hue gleaned from the inside.

"According to Alcantara this is where Mr. Len should be."

Grey looked over to his captain anxiously and cocked his head.

"Do you think he's still there, sir?"

Jim looked from the glow to the red shirt.

"Only one way to find out." He announced and headed forward.

The ensign followed shortly after and the two started slowly making their way deeper into the cave. The darkness inside made the light that continuously shined from the center more visible and as they ventured further they discovered the same as Alcantara had; the water grew in height with each step.

"Captain, the water."

"I see it, Mr. Grey. You do know how to swim, don't you?" Kirk teased slightly to keep the ensign positive and the man responded with a little chuckle.

"Yes, captain."

The closer they got to the light the higher the water. At a certain point it had reached their chest but the cave was obviously longer than that.

"What now, sir?"

Jim had just opened his mouth to attempt an answer when suddenly he noticed something.

"Did you hear that?"

Mr. Grey furrowed his brows and gazed at the captain.

"Hear what, sir?"

"That." Jim mentioned again and rose a finger.

"Just listen." He advised and the two men were in utter silence as they attentively awaited the alleged sound.

A very faint beeping came from the same direction that the light was glowing and the two looked at each other with a grin.

"There's something down there, captain."

"Sure is... and we're going to find out what it is." Just after saying that he sunk down into the water and began swimming forward. The water blurred his vision but the glistening was still bright enough for him to easily make out an exit just a bit further. The ensign was following his lead, swimming just behind him. When Jim caught sight of a brighter light above he assumed it was the end of the small tunnel they'd gone through. His assumption was correct and as he floated back up, gasping for air the lilac light flooded his eyes. A few seconds later Mr. Grey had popped up beside him and the two were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by Len.

"Captain!"

"Mr. Len, are you alright?" Kirk asked nonchalantly as he moved out of the water.

"Yes, sir. I tried contacting you but the communicators don't work down here."

The men started making their way towards the ensign who was also wet, just not as much as they currently were.

"I thought I gave you a direct order to stay with doctor Alcantara."

"Yes, captain and I did. But then she discovered the cause of the sickness and sent me after you."

"And that explains how you managed to get yourself in an underground cave with a... what is that thing anyway?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you, sir."

Ensign Len looked at Jim who looked back for a second before switching his gaze to the strange machinery that lay there on the rocky surface of the cave.

"I was looking for you all when I saw a light coming from the entrance of the cave. I was curious so..."

"Surprise, surprise." Grey rolled his eyes playfully and Len shot his friend an equally playful look before the captain looked up again and he continued.

"I came to investigate and I found this. I think it's a part of that old ship the chief said they came here on."

The three gathered around the thing and Ensign Grey, an engineer, confirmed the theory.

"It's from a starship alright. An old Ferengi model, but that's all I can tell."

"Why would they drag that in here?" Len looked to his friend then Jim.

"The chief did mention they didn't want to be found."

As the two red shirts disused ideas a distinct signal caught Jim's eye and he used the UT to translate the readings on the machinery.

"Maybe they decided to hide the signal tracker in an attempt to keep any other ship's from reading anything down here." Grey responded with a theory of his own and the other nodded in agreement to how it sounded.

"That would explain why the communicators' signals are so weak." Len added with a smile, feeling as if they were the sleuths of the century.

As the men's banter continued Kirk tensed up when he noticed just what that thing was beeping about.

It was the same signal the admiral had showed him back at Guayana 08. If anything, that meant that they were closer to the new life form than he thought; according to the readings they were just at the edge of the quadrant, some 57 light years from the Enterprise's current location.

"What should we do with it, captain?" Ensign Len snapped Jim out of his thoughts and the man looked back with his usual expression.

"Well, leave it here, of course. If it's theirs and they put it here then it's not our place to move it."

The two red shirts agreed easily and Kirk looked back towards the entrance of the cave.

"Now let's get back. If the doc really did find out what's causing this epidemic than she's probably about finished treating them by now."

* * *

When Jim and the ensigns returned they were happy to find just that; Alcantara was on her feet again and Spock stood in a corner of the chief's room, hands behind his back as he observed the woman treat her patient.

"Doctor, I see you've been busy." Kirk announced as he entered and everyone in the room looked over to him and the other two dripping wet men.

Alcantara looked to Len like someone who scolds their little sibling.

"Doctor." The man nodded to her with a smug grin and she simply shook her head a bit as Kirk walked over to the bed.

"How's she doing?"

"Much better, captain. After finding out the water was the cause of the illness treatment was simple."

Alcantara motions with her head to the plate the chief was eating from.

"A bit more salt in their system should regulate the electrolyte intake."

"So it was the water this whole time?"

"Yes, captain." Spock spoke up as he stepped forward.

"It seems as if the extreme size of the planet's moon effected the molecules of the water causing over-hydration more easily."

Jim huffed a bit at the strangeness of the case and grinned at the chief.

"Seems like you're going to be fine, chief."

The Ferengi nodded and smiled a bit.

"Thank you. All of you." She looked to Spock and Alcantara as well, whom both nodded humbly.

Jim smiled back and turned to Alcantara.

"Finish up here and report outside to beam up."

"Yes, sir." The woman went towards her tricorder to take the Ferengi's final vitals as the men started leaving.

Kirk and Spock walked alongside and the first officer turned to his friend curiously.

"How did you manage to find, ensign Len, captain?"

"He was in the cave, just as the doc had said."

Spock cocked his head, curious as to why the woman hadn't gone after him herself if it was so simple but his train of thought was interrupted but Jim's own question.

"What had gotten into her anyway?"

"Seeing as I had no means of communicating with the physician that assisted her I'm not able to answer that, sir."

Kirk shrugged a bit as they reached the outside of the hut.

"Must have just been scared when she saw the ensign disappear into that cave."

"Perhaps, captain." Spock replied though he didn't quite believe that.

"Good thing you so bravely volunteered to bring her back." Jim smirked.

Spock eyed the man for a second as he made out the sarcastic tone in his captain's voice.

"Sir?" Was all Spock managed to question.

"Mr. Spock?" Kirk replied, playing dumb.

"Is there something else you might mean by that comment?"

"Huh? Oh no, I was simply stating she was lucky you were there." Kirk continued to the beaming site with a chuckle, mostly he was just teasing the Vulcan.

Little did he know that Spock was actually quite concerned about the comment.

Just then the doctor started behind the rest of the group, looking down at her readings and checking all her other devices.

Spock gazed back at her for a moment, wondering if the fact that the woman caused a strange reaction in him was so obvious that the captain could realize from simply seeing them interacting just once.

He shook the thought out of his mind; it was utterly illogical of him to be developing feelings for the woman seeing as he understood she was currently in a relationship with Sulu... well, of sorts. Nevertheless he couldn't deny that he had felt something quite different during the walk in the forest and he wasn't entirely convinced it was only due to his illness.

The doctor looked back up, the setting sun made the moon twice as bright and the pink water reflected in a different shade of pink behind her. Her brown pupils met Spock's, making the man's breath hitch ever so slightly and confirming to him that there was definitely something unprecedented happening to him.

Spock averted his eyes and stood staring straight forward as Alcantara reached the rest of them and Kirk flipped his communicator open.

"Kirk to Enterprise."

"This is the Enterprise, captain." Uhura came in through the device.

"Lieutenant, we're all done here. Beam us aboard."

"Aye, aye, sir." The woman acknowledged and soon enough the telltale gleaming started displacing the crew members' molecules back onto the ship.

* * *

Finally back on aboard and after checking in with Bones about the procedures she'd taken at the village Alcantara headed towards her wing to check how things had been handled with her absence.

The woman walked into the empty sector and went straight to her office. Waving her key card in front of the door she was greeted with her PADD laying on the desktop as she'd left it only now it was flooded with work her subordinates had sent to her for double checking. Alcantara nodded lightly, already aware that she'd be up till late getting all that done.

Just as the woman was going to sit down she caught a glimpse of the machine she'd left with Spock's blood sample that morning.

She walked over to it and entered the necessary codes to get the result. As she awaited the answer she thought of the strange case her commander was experiencing.

The only other cases of Trellium-D poisoning she'd studied clearly stated that the patient shouldn't be able to even control emotions correctly, something basic for a Vulcan, and yet Spock was making accurate assessments of the scientific inquiries and even managed to hull her unconscious body back to the village.

Alcantara thought about that a bit longer. When she woke up after passing out she didn't see any sign of shock on Spock's face, though it wouldn't be visible even if he were. That had slightly comforted her regarding him discovering her secret. Nonetheless the whole reason she'd fainted was due to the overexposure to coldness and if he carried her all the way to the village there was an unsettling probability that her instinctive process had taken place.

Her worrisome train of thought was cut off by the faint beeping the machine produced, stating the results were in.

As the doctor looked down at the LED screen her brows furrowed and her eyes sharpened; the result was nothing like she'd expected.


	8. Chapter 7

[ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ]

sorry for the late update; I've been busy with finals, which is also going to be the reason behind the shortness of this chapter. Also be ready for drama bombs from here on out cuz ladies and gentlemen we're reaching the beginning of the second act.

* * *

Freshly replicated coffee scented the woman's office and she stared out blankly at the closed door ahead of her.

It was another of those days that Alcantara had expected to be common during a full one thousand eight hundred twenty five days in space. She thought about how she could have done the work she stayed up till three in the morning completing today instead.

The thing was that Alcantara hadn't had more than five hours of sleep since high school; another characteristic of her undisclosed race, she presumed. She'd tried sleeping in once, like the normal human teens in the movies but discovered that doing so only caused the opposite effect on her and spent the rest of the day with the symptoms of a flu. In the end it helped her through med school and so she simply accepted the fact like so many other things she just knew without having a clear idea as to why. Which was something that drove her particularly crazy.

The rest of the B wing's staff was outside looking just as bored as their chief M. D. and Alcantara figured that would be a good a time as any to try to mingle with the people she'd be spending five years with.

Standing and straightening out her uniform Alcantara wondered what she would say in the first place. It's not like she could simply walk up to them and start talking about just anything.

Nonetheless she was determined to at least try. Things didn't go so smoothly; she took the first step out of the room and the small circle of people who were speaking slowly started to disperse. Her fingers gripped on tighter to her other hand that held her PADD as she stood in that stance of hers and opened her mouth looking from one unfamiliar face to another.

"That won't be necessary." She almost stuttered but caught herself just in time.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks and glared at her before shifting to look at their colleges standing beside them.

"There's no immediate task at hand therefore uh…" The woman's voice caught in her throat and she had a death grip on her other hand at this point.

"She means y'all can take it easy." A known voice saved her from the horribly miserable attempt of socializing she'd thrust herself into.

The woman's gaze flickered to the left, noticing Bones standing there, looking more like a senior officer than ever as he basically saved her from embarrassing herself any further. The casual chatting mixed with light chuckles as the crew continued with their lounging and Alcantara looked at the other doctor for a minute before awkwardly walking towards him.

"Thank you, Doctor McCoy."

"Just McCoy'll do." He smiled at her with a friendly aura about him and the woman simply stared at him.

"I presumed I should try to interact with my crew mates on a less professional level seeing as we'll be spending a considerably long period together."

Bones nodded as he eyed her explaining her failed attempt in some way that would save her a little dignity.

"Well, ya know, give it time."

Alcantara simply looked back down at the PADD that eternally served as her safety blanket in her hands.

"Say what, why don't we head down to the mess hall and you take it easy too?"

Alcantara started to cock her head to give an excuse and McCoy added before she could even make one up.

"First rule about making friends is that you gotta actually try."

Alcantara closed her mouth again and nodded so lightly it was barely noticeable. Bones smiled and the two headed out of the sickbay.

Back on the bridge things were just as easy going, the crew idly going about their usual tasks with the vastness of space displayed ahead of them. Every once in a while a yeoman would enter the bridge to give Kirk something to sign or a junior officer would head over to their superior to report or update them on certain part of the ship.

"Spock, how are those files on the planet coming?" Jim questioned regarding the Ferengi colony they'd gotten back from yesterday.

"Nearly finished, captain." The science officer replied calmly and Jim nodded.

Just then Len entered the bridge with a PADD for Mr. Grey who was currently manning the engineering controls.

"Morning, captain." The young man greeted the blonde who replied with a nod.

"Mr. Len."

The man continued to his friend, who was currently working just to the left of Sulu's post.

"Here you go." He handed the other red shirt the device with a smirk.

"Took you long enough. What did you get 'curious' about another shiny light?" The man joked and Len chuckled lightly.

"Almost. Ran into Alcantara on my way up." The young man smirked.

"Oh really." Grey shook his head with a smirk of his own and Sulu's ears focused on the conversation upon hearing the girl's name.

He and the doctor weren't exactly an item but he'd mentioned her to Chekov enough times and it wasn't like anyone was asking him about his personal life but he wasn't keeping it a secret either.

"Uh huh, could barely keep from blushing." Len kidded as he took his hands up to his cheeks in a ladylike manner.

Grey snickered, knowing his friend was joking, as it was very difficult to notice Len blush due to his dark brown complexion and the fact that the young man had probably never felt embarrassed by any of his goofy actions.

"Forget it; she's probably already got a fling with the robot." Grey add nonchalantly as he flicked through the pages on the PADD.

"You mean…" The other man took his hands to his ears which he pulled up slightly.

Sulu watched him subtly from the corner of his eye and could only presume he meant Spock.

"Yep." Mr. Grey confirmed and looked back to his friend.

"He practically fought me to carry her back to the village when she fainted."

"Man, why do the higher ranks get all the babes?"

The two red shirts chuckled before Grey cut their little gossip session short.

"Get outta here before Scotty puts you on the graveyard shift for slacking off."

Len clicked his tongue at his friend but did as he was told anyways.

As he left Sulu was motionlessly sitting in his chair. He knew that Alcantara wasn't head over heels for him but to play him like that was something he couldn't stand for.

"Mr. Sulu." Kirk's voice pulled the helmsman out of his shock and he looked back to his captain.

"Maintain at warp 3 until I get back from my lunch break."

"Aye, sir." Sulu replied as Jim stood and walked over to Uhura just as Spock got up with the reports he had finished.

The man's eyes sharpened as he glared at his first officer leaving the bridge, a mixture of jealousy and hurt building in his chest. He managed to look back forward and took out his phone, ready to send Alcantara some disgraced text though he still hadn't even cleared his mind yet. Luckily he was wise enough to catch himself and decided that if he were to confront her it was going to be face to face.

Meanwhile Jim was handing Uhura the UT he'd been holding onto since his return from the mission.

"See if you can update it to recognize that dialect and make sure to catalog it as soon as you're done."

"Yes, sir." The lady nodded as she took the device from Jim's hand but instead of heading off for his lunch like she'd expected him to he stood there a little longer until she looked back up to him again.

"Yes?" She amused him, wondering what the unpredictable man could possibly want this time.

"There's also something else there; not Ferengi, not the dialect."

Uhura's brows raised at the intriguing new information.

"Give it your best shot at decoding it and report directly to me if you get anything."

The woman nodded with a sense of duty which Jim appreciated greatly and displayed it with a smile and a nod back before finally heading out.

When McCoy and Alcantara reached the holodeck they went over to a replicator as the doctor continued to try to give the woman pointers on being more accessible to her subordinates.

"You gotta have a second in command. For example, you and Erikson are my second in command in all of sickbay but nurse Chapel is my second in command when I leave my post, like right now. If there was an emergency she has my authority to do what need be until I get back."

Alcantara seemed to understand what he meant and watched as he replicated himself a cup of coffee and looked over to her as if asking if she'd like one as well to which she shook her head.

"You get it? Your second in command is gonna help you out. So don't worry, sooner or later you're bound to make friends."

He got his drink and they started walking over to an empty table as she decided to say what was on her mind.

"I once had a professor that stated the exact opposite. He told me that sharing responsibility increased the chances of failure. I agree with him."

McCoy shook his head and eyed the woman.

"Alright then, try running this whole ship by yourself, see what happens."

Alcantara was caught by the simple yet accurate logic.

"You'll never budge, that's what'll happen. You need to trust people sometimes. " The man nodded and took a sip of the hot drink.

"And I know who told you that bullshit; professor Manning from semiology. Never liked him."

Alcantara raised a brow, shocked that McCoy could so easily recall the man she quoted. He noticed how surprised she looked and grinned.

"Forget that I went to the Starfleet too?"

Alcantara nodded as her nervous fingers slid over her shut off PADD on her lap, luckily out of the observant CMO's sight.

"It's alright; I just barely remembered you too. You didn't go out much, did ya?"

Alcantara shot the man a look that he understood as 'Really? You're giving me advice on how to make friends and you think that'd I'd go out during the most important time of my life.'

He nodded and took the cup up to his lips.

"Right. Besides I didn't have much time to notice anybody; always babysitting that lucky bastard."

"Captain Kirk?" Alcantara deduced, seeing as she'd heard many girls during her academy years mention the man in similar terms.

"One of these days he's gonna run outta luck, ya know? Just hope he doesn't kill me while he's at it." Bones looked half worried half irritated, which honestly was how he looked most of the time, though it became more visible when someone brought up Jim's antics.

Alcantara took a moment recalling the superficial facts she knew about her knew captain and responded with her analysis.

"I don't think he's lucky as much as he is planned."

McCoy cocked a brow and pursed his lips.

"Are we talking about the same Jim here?"

"Perhaps planned isn't the right word."

"Perhaps you're not thinking of the right captain." The man chuckled a bit and the female doctor tried to express what she was thinking.

"What I mean is that he takes calculated risks and most of the times the calculations are correct but he doesn't bother to explain them and so others presume its luck."

McCoy smirked at how the woman was actually much more agreeable than she looked.

"You know, Alcantara, if you're going to flirt with Jim at least do it when he's in the room."

"I'm not flirting, however I would prefer if you didn't mention to him that I commented that or else I'm afraid the same won't be able to said about him."

This time Bones chuckled heartily and eyed the lady.

"I thought you didn't like jokes."

"It wasn't a joke; I meant that." Though she tried to confirm the opposite it only made the doctor smile wider.

"Well joke or not it was funny."

Alcantara raised a brow at the man ahead of her but couldn't deny she was glad she was able to express her blatant opinion and still have someone enjoy her company. Maybe the captain was right about McCoy trying to make friends with her and after this interaction she wasn't exactly against it either.

* * *

Spock carried the files on the PADD in an almost nonchalant manner as he walked down the halls of the Enterprise. No one truly spoke to him except for a few formal citations of his rank by ensigns passing by and so the man naturally quiet as he went along his way. The Vulcan was just reaching the science lab when a somewhat familiar voice caught his attention.

"Mr. Spock?"

He turned to see Alcantara standing, hands neatly holding her PADD just above the edge of her blue uniform and the usual serious, calm expression on her face. He observed her from head to toe unconsciously.

The woman noticed the particularly different way the Vulcan's eyes had scanned her just now and she just barely quirked a brow before going on.

"I have some information about your sample." She tried to be as discreet as possible and Spock was thankful for it, his gaze changing to a slightly more attentive one.

"When you're able to, I'd like for you to stop by my office so that you can see the results."

"Very well, lieutenant. I'll be there shortly after the end of my shift."

The girl nodded and headed back towards sickbay. As Spock watched her leave he sensed a turbine of various different emotions seemingly getting intertwined with one another inside him and felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He assumed this was what humans denoted as anxiety. It was only natural, he presumed, seeing as soon he could have a cause and treatment to his secret ailment.

Later than evening as Alcantara stood in a corner of the B wing, her usual stance in place but her mind distant, she considered McCoy's advice from earlier.

The B wing was being evacuated slowly as each and every one of the staff left when their shift was over. Alcantara watched them all in what seemed to be her first true action as a leader, rather than merely a good example. After all there was much more to being the boss than simply knowing what had to be done and when.

She thought about how that also tied into her conversation with Bones that morning. Kirk was a prime example of leadership and though Alcantara would never use him as an example for personal philosophy she admired the way he managed to find the balance between imposing himself as a captain and yet seeming as approachable as anybody else. She guessed some people were born with said abilities but McCoy's implication was still correct; Jim couldn't run the ship himself.

They were a team. Everyone was necessary and if she was entrusted to be part of the group that held more responsibility over their colleagues then she was going to try every option that would be beneficial to that cause. Perhaps a second in command would prove useful and in case it didn't than at least she'd tested that opinion and could decide what she thought best based on her own results.

As if on cue, Spock arrived, curious as to his own results, just as the last of the crew had left.

Alcantara walked forward to the Vulcan and he watched her patiently.

"Doctor."

"It's in here, sir." The woman went straight to the point and led Spock to her office, where the machine was left unaltered since the time she'd received the outcome herself.

The two stepped into the clean, organized office and Spock admired how meticulous the woman seemed to be about her work place, he could only assume the same could be said about her work and trusted that the results obtained were veridical.

The doctor stood in front of the glossy white box, this time accompanied by the source of the sample himself and motioned to the screen that displayed the outcome before starting her clinical explanation.

"Commander, the steady progression of the deterioration of cognitive functions in Vulcans exposed to Trellium-D has been proven to be a constant in all patients suffering from said illness yet you seem to get better and then worse again in random patterns."

"I'm aware of that, doctor." Spock wasn't angry but much rather frustrated. Though he hoped the woman would have at least an idea as to the cause of this discomforting situation he had already presumed she wouldn't due to his own studies.

"I think it might prove helpful to mention that I've read over the recent conditions of the reaction chambers and they are functioning perfectly." He add and Alcantara's expression showed she agreed.

"That makes sense, sir." The woman stopped a moment as she tried to align the next sentence with as much precision as possible so that he could perfectly understand.

"Seeing as your blood sample tested out as negative for contamination."

Spock cocked his head as his brows furrowed curiously.

"As your aware of, the most common form of Trellium-D poisoning is by inhaling it however in your case... it's cutaneous."

"Doctor, are you suggesting someone is applying the mineral directly onto me."

"Honestly, Mr. Spock, I'm currently at a loss." She looked utterly confused and as Spock watched her he realized something that had been confusing before take shape in his thoughts.

"I have a theory, doctor."

The woman shook her head lightly as her eyes flooded into her patient's.

"By all means, sir, enlighten me."

"As a matter of fact I'd like to run some experiments of my own before I reveal it to you."

Alcantara straightened her posture while looking up to the man.

"Surely. It seems we've encountered a unique situation so alternative methods are welcome."

"Logically." The Vulcan nodded once and the doctor nodded slowly back to him.

"Thank you, doctor, that'll be all for now. I'll keep in touch."

"Yes, sir."

Spock headed out with his plans for said experiments already running through his mind. Not only that but he was feeling a bit queasy after the doctor's explanation and required to return to his quarters to take his pills and meditate before he went to bed.

As he was crossing the doorway to leave the B wing Sulu, who was there on personal matters of his own was coming up in the opposite direction.

"Mr. Sulu." Spock greeted the helmsman as he left quickly, guessing that he was there for Alcantara, and though he was the nature of the visit was quite distinct from what Spock imagined.

Sulu just barely managed to stand straight when Spock went past him. If he was suspicious before he was just plain outraged now.

He greeted his commander back and directed his attentions to Alcantara's office, taking a deep breath before continuing.

When he reached the door the woman noticed him and opened it promptly.

"Sulu, I was just about to…" She didn't get to finish as Sulu interrupted her.

"Are you seeing Spock?"

His question was direct, harsh in tone and so unfathomable to Alcantara that the woman simply stared at the yellow shirt with a mouth slightly agape.

"What?"

"You heard me." The man snapped back and the doctor stiffened up.

"Absolutely not."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Sulu, where is this coming fro…" Again she was cut off and this time it took a certain amount of will to not continue speaking over the man ahead of her.

"Then why was he here?" The question was bold but Alcantara answered without faltering.

"He required my medical opinion." Her own voice became less controlled a bit more steely.

"Alright then tell me about it."

This time the woman was dead silent.

"Tell me, Natalya."

Upon hearing her first name, something Sulu used sparsely, she knew he was entirely serious about the matter. Nonetheless she simply could not release this very personal matter regarding their first office to anyone; she'd taken the Hippocratic Oath and didn't intend to breach it over a feud based on Sulu's jealousy.

"Sulu, you have to… trust me." She tried to coax him into accepting her word by using McCoy's advice about human nature but the little she knew about Sulu let her expect nothing along those lines.

"Either you tell me what Spock was doing here, alone with you after shift…" He was glaring her and the girl awaited the next words with a horrible uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Or we're through."

She couldn't lose Sulu. He was her lifeline.

The whole reason Alcantara continued to string out her obviously unpassionate relationship with Sulu was due to her basic necessity for a source of heat. It was a known fact that the doctor was not at all sociable and the best form of contact that she could absorb the heat she needed, while avoiding being seen, was through casual sex, protected by the darkness of a room.

During her academy years she'd sometimes go in an unknown bar on the less popular part of town and try her luck, returning home the same night, replenished physically but emotionally torn down; the lifestyle being one utterly different from what she'd imagined for herself.

It seemed Sulu was the type to keep a low profile as well and it was one of those nights under the San Francisco lights that the two crossed path. A week later while applying to join the Enterprise's exploratory mission the two met again. Sulu seemed genuinely pleased to see the woman again however the first thing to come into Alcantara's mind was something she was ashamed of.

Though she had vehemently decided to join the five year mission she was mostly concerned as to whom she would obtain the heat she needed to survive without becoming known as 'easy' amongst her new crewmates. Upon seeing Sulu she decided that he was the answer to her problem.

She labeled the idea as ruthless and unprincipled but, as was proven by her reencounter with the man only two nights earlier, her physiological needs spoke louder. To avoid becoming seriously ill (ill enough to have McCoy running all sorts of tests she could pass when normally stocked with the heat necessary but that would beep and wail as soon as it came into contact with her alien nature) the girl gave into the thing she considered too vile to mention.

But now she was at a crossroads. On the one hand she truly needed a source of heat, essentially a source of life, however on the other hand she was morally confined to doctor-patient confidentiality and the woman already questioned her morality enough on a personal level to now add to it on the only part of her life she considered still untarnished by this bubble of secrets she lived in; her profession.

Alcantara's eyes showed she was troubled but as she spoke Sulu could not deny she meant what she said.

"I can't."

Sulu nodded lightly, disappointed but certain that he too would be as persistent with his stance.

"That's all the answer I needed." The man turned and stormed out of the B wing, leaving Alcantara standing there in her office with her head high as an enormous weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders.

She felt free in a way, unbound by fake words and two dimensional emotions. Then she was faced with her new dilemma; the situation she'd taken a shortcut in resolving in the beginning had finally orbited right back to her and she was hardly prepared for it.


End file.
